Austin Hack, 24, Sentenced in Lafayette Firearm Case

Austin Hack, 24, of Lafayette, Louisiana, is headed to federal prison for 26 months after being caught with a loaded revolver he wasn’t legally allowed to possess. The conviction stems from a January 2019 arrest on unrelated warrants, during which law enforcement found the firearm stashed in a silver Mercedes Benz parked outside a Sonny Street residence.

Hack pleaded guilty on April 6, 2021, to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a charge handed down by a federal grand jury on November 18, 2020. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Michael J. Juneau ordered the 26-month prison term, followed by three years of supervised release—sending a clear message that repeat offenders won’t be given leniency.

The trouble began when Lafayette Police Department officers moved in to arrest Hack on outstanding warrants. After he exited the residence, authorities obtained a search warrant for the Mercedes. Inside, they found a revolver with five live rounds chambered, plus 20 additional rounds of ammunition scattered in the vehicle. Hack later admitted to buying the weapon off the street and confirmed it was his.

Hack’s criminal history sealed his fate. In 2018, he was convicted of illegal possession of a stolen firearm—a felony that stripped him of the right to own or carry any guns. Despite that, he chose to arm himself again, violating federal law and putting the public at risk.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Lafayette Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Nickel. It was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a DOJ initiative aimed at dismantling violent crime through federal-state partnerships and targeted prosecutions of armed felons.

Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook emphasized that cases like Hack’s are exactly what PSN was designed to stop. ‘Convicted felons with guns fuel violence in our communities,’ Van Hook said. ‘We’re not looking the other way. We’re coming after every illegal firearm, every illegal possessor.’ More on PSN’s efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/psn.