Gulfport, Miss. - Johnathan Quarles, 25, of Gulfport, pled guilty today before U.S. District U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to one count of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Michelle Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.
On Dec. 26, 2019, Biloxi Police officers executed a search warrant on a Biloxi residence. Just outside the residence, they observed Johnathan Quarles, who was seated in his vehicle. Quarles saw officers and threw a bag of marijuana out of the car window. When the officers spoke with Quarles, they observed an unsheathed.9mm in his pocket. Quarles is an active user of narcotics and therefore not permitted to be in possession of a firearm. He told officers that he smokes 3-4 ounces of weed a day and that he has smoked regularly since he was 13 years old.
Quarles will be sentenced by Judge Ozerden on Nov. 30, 2020 at 9:30 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
