Gulfport, Miss. – A Gulfport man was sentenced to 103 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”).

According to court records, on September 29, 2020, Gulfport Police officers attempted to stop a vehicle being driven by Marcus Deshun Agee a/k/a ABK-Spurt, 31, of Gulfport. After initially fleeing in his vehicle, Agee continued to flee on foot and successfully eluded law enforcement officers.  Officers secured the vehicle and recovered approximately 200 grams of marijuana packaged in 67 separate packages.  They also recovered a Glock 17 pistol in the vehicle.  Officers determined that Agee had multiple prior felony convictions.

DEA agents obtained a federal arrest warrant for Agee based upon the September 29, 2020, traffic stop. On November 3, 2020, law enforcement officers saw Agee driving the same vehicle and attempted to make another traffic stop.  Again, Agee refused to comply and attempted to flee.  When Agee eventually stopped the vehicle, he again fled on foot but was apprehended.

Agee pled guilty on June 16, 2021 to possessing the Glock 17 pistol that was located in the vehicle during the first stop. He was sentenced on January 28, 2022, in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.

The DEA investigated this case with assistance from the Gulfport Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Buckner prosecuted the case.

This case was 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.