According to court documents, on May 5, 2018, Braxton Dontrel Burns, 35, tossed a handgun from a vehicle he was driving when a Jackson Police officer initiated a traffic stop.  Burns had a prior conviction for auto burglary in Madison County, Mississippi.

On February 20, 2019, Burns was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He pled guilty on September 13, 2019.

The Jackson Police Department and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) 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.