Newport News, Va. – Roosevelt Byrd, 46, has copped to a serious charge, pleading guilty today to possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to court papers, the street-savvy suspect was fingered for pushing narcotics in the heart of downtown Newport News. When cops closed in on him, Byrd tried to make a break for it,丢掉一个小包后被发现装有“crack” cocaine. Once cornered, Byrd confessed that he had picked up a gun and kept it at home.
With no time to waste, police secured a warrant to search Byrd’s pad, where they found the firearm just as the man said it would be. Now, Byrd is staring down a potential sentence of 10 years in the clink when he’s sentenced on August 12.
The former street dealer may find himself behind bars for life due to his past offenses, making him eligible for a mandatory minimum of 15 years to life under armed career criminal statutes. However, federal sentences often come in below the maximum penalties, and a district court judge will ultimately decide Byrd’s fate based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice initiative aimed at reducing violent crime. PSN works to identify and tackle the most pressing violent crime problems, focusing enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders while partnering with local prevention and reentry programs to reduce crime over time.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, G. Zachary Terwilliger; Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Washington Field Division, Ashan M. Benedict; and Newport News Police Chief Steve R. Drew announced Byrd’s plea after it was accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf is handling the prosecution.
For more information, visit the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia website or search Case No. 4:19-cr-33 on PACER.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Weapons|Human Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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