Six people have been indicted in the Southern District of Georgia on felony charges including illegal firearms possession and drug distribution, while additional defendants have been sentenced to federal prison or await further proceedings after pleading guilty to federal gun charges.
The cases are prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, to reduce violent crime with measures that include targeting convicted felons who illegally possess guns.
“Removing illegally possessed firearms from convicted felons plays a key role in reducing violent crime in our communities,” said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to prioritize taking these tools of violence out of the hands individuals who are prohibited from possessing them.”
In the past five years, more than 800 defendants have been prosecuted in the Southern District of Georgia for firearms offenses – most often for possessing a firearm after conviction for a previous felony. That charge carries a statutory penalty of up to 15 years in prison, and there is no parole in the federal system.
Those indicted during the October term of the U.S. District Court Grand Jury include:
- Ricky Rich, 41, of East Dublin, Ga., charged with four counts of Distribution of 5 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; Distribution of Fentanyl; Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams or More of Methamphetamine; Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl; three counts of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and two counts of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;
- Othnell Christian Ferguson, 27, of Pembroke, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- Jamal Brashad Hawkins, 20, of Swainsboro, Ga., charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- Jamario D. Owens, 24, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon;
- Keith Alan Scorza, 53, of Savannah, charged with False Statement During the Purchase of a Firearm, and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person, referring to a domestic violence protective order; and,
- Pedro Walker, 24, of Savannah, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
Defendants recently adjudicated on federal firearms charges include:
- Reginald General Jackson, 36, of Savannah, was sentenced to 120 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Stolen Firearm. Savannah Police officers found Jackson in possession of multiple pistols after they were called in June 2022 to a Savannah motel room that Jackson was refusing to leave.
- Tony Lavardo Blount Jr., 32, of Augusta, was sentenced to 78 months in prison and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Columbia County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a Grovetown, Ga., home to investigate a report of domestic violence and arrested Blount after a brief foot chase when he pulled a pistol from his pocket.
- Calvin Lomont Powell Jr., 22, of Waynesboro, Ga., was sentenced to 41 months in prison and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Georgia State Patrol troopers found a pistol, drugs, and cash in Powell’s car during a June 2022 traffic stop.
- Derrick Drurell Long, 32, of Augusta, was sentenced to 56 months in prison and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Georgia Department of Community Supervision officers arrested Long in June 2020 after finding a pistol in his apartment during a search.
- Reco Casey, a/k/a “Rico,” 33, of Augusta, was sentenced to 57 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. In September 2021, Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies found a pistol in the vehicle where Casey was a passenger. Casey was on state felony probation at the time of his arrest.
- Tavares L. Freeman Jr., 22, of Augusta, was sentenced to 45 months in prison and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Freeman was arrested in August 2022 after he was seen tossing a pistol from a window of his home as Richmond County sheriff’s deputies and agents from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision arrived to conduct a search of the residence. Freeman was on probation from a state felony conviction at the time.
- Cortez Timmie Dinh, 27, of Martinez, Ga., was sentenced to three years’ probation, fined $1,500 and ordered to serve 40 hours of community service after pleading guilty to False Statement During the Purchase of a Firearm. During an August 2019 traffic stop, Richmond County deputies found guns and drugs in a vehicle in which Dinh was a passenger. The driver, Jose Ramon Valero Jr., 25, of Stonecrest, Ga., is serving 84 months in prison after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute, and to Distribute, Marijuana, and Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. Dinh acted as a straw purchaser in buying one of the guns found in the vehicle for Valero, who was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a previous conviction for domestic violence.
- Jesu Aurelius Fox, 27, of Savannah, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah Police officers found Fox in possession of a pistol while behind the wheel of his vehicle in August 2021.
- David Wayne Cleland, 34, of Ridgeland, S.C., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Garden City police officers investigating a suspicious vehicle in a motel parking lot found Cleland asleep in the car with a handgun in his lap.
- Steve Shontell Heath, 46, of Hephzibah, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. A Burke County sheriff’s deputy found a pistol in Heath’s vehicle during a December 2021 traffic stop.
Agencies investigating these cases include the ATF, the FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Savannah Police Department, the Statesboro Police Department, the Swainsboro Police Department, and the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office.
The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense.
