Jackson, Miss. – A Natchez man was sentenced today to 15 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, announced Acting United States Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

According to court documents, Adams County Sheriff’s deputies encountered Roy Ray III, 20, while searching for a wanted person.  Although he was not the person deputies were looking for, Ray was in possession of a firearm and deputies knew a warrant had been issued for him over probation violations.

Ray was charged in a federal criminal indictment with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  He pled guilty on March 16, 2021.

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bert Carraway prosecuted the case.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.