A Beaumont resident, Charles Terrance Leaven, 39, has been indicted on federal firearms charges in the Eastern District of Texas. Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced that a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Leaven this week. The charges include being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime.
According to the indictment, Leaven was found with a firearm on March 11, 2024, in Beaumont. Authorities determined that he had previously been convicted of a felony and was legally barred from owning or possessing firearms.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, which brings together resources from the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration, target cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime. The initiative combines efforts from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
If convicted, Leaven could face up to life in federal prison.
The investigation involves the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Beaumont Police Department; and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross is prosecuting the case.
“A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law,” according to the statement.
