Darien Montrel Vaughn-White, Gun Possession, Michigan 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN - A Kalamazoo felon has been sentenced to serve 37 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons for possessing a handgun after being convicted of a felony.

Darien Montrel Vaughn-White, 25, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was handed down the sentence by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney, who also imposed a period of supervised release of 3 years.

According to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Vaughn-White was warned in July 2018 that his gun-related criminal activity had come to the attention of law enforcement. At the same time, Vaughn-White was offered the option of guidance and social services.

However, on September 9, 2019, KDPS officers saw Vaughn-White in a fight and after he left the scene, officers stopped him. They found him in possession of a 9mm semiautomatic handgun with a 30-round extended magazine. A federal grand jury indicted Vaughn-White and he later pleaded guilty to his illegal possession.

At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Maloney commented on the seriousness of Vaughn-White's illegal possession, the poor choice of going to a place where he knew there would be a fight, and the danger posed by the high-capacity semi-automatic handgun.

The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the DOJ's violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru and investigated by the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmi/pr/2020_0313_Vaughn-White