Three Georgia men sentenced to federal prison

Three men were sentenced to federal prison in separate cases adjudicated last week in the Southern District of Georgia.

In sessions in U.S. District Court in Savannah and Augusta, each of the defendants who previously pled guilty to felony charges received sentences including federal prison terms followed by periods of supervised release, said, Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

Those sentenced Monday include:

• Rashad Stanford, 37, of Savannah, sentenced to 92 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood. Stanford, with five previous felony convictions for entering automobiles, pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He was arrested by Savannah Police in January 2019 after brandishing a firearm – later determined to have been stolen in a previous vehicle break-in – when a victim found Stanford rummaging through his car.
• Vodie Nathaniel Bell Jr., 30, of Savannah, sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release by Judge Wood. Bell, who has three prior felony convictions, pled guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Bell was carrying a pistol in his pocket when he was arrested by Savannah Police in May 2018 on an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault.
• John Russell Dixon, 40, of Waynesboro, sentenced to 80 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall. Dixon pled guilty to Possession of Methamphetamine and Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, and Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Drug User. Dixon was arrested by Burke County and Richmond County sheriff’s deputies after an October 2018 traffic stop in which significant amounts of drugs, cash and two firearms were found in his vehicle.

The cases were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Savannah Police Department, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the Burke County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua S. Bearden, Henry W. Syms Jr., Joseph McCool and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn Semales.