United States Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announces that United States District Court Judge William H. Steele sentenced Derrick Lashawn Ward on Sept. 26, 2017 to serve a term of imprisonment of 46 months followed by 3 years of supervised release for illegally possessing a Masterpiece,.9 mm machine gun, with a loaded 30 round magazine. The defendant possessed the weapon in Grand Bay, Alabama on Feb. 17, 2017 in violation of 18 USC § 922(g)(1). The defendant entered a guilty plea before the Court on June 16, 2017.
On the date of incident, Deputies of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence based on narcotics activity that had occurred at the location. During the search of the residence, investigators located the loaded firearm in the defendant’s bedroom, along with crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, Narcotics Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lawrence J. Bullard for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
