Monquel Dejuan-Lee Paulk, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Michigan 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – A Lansing man, Monquel Dejuan-Lee Paulk, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Paulk, formerly of Lansing, Michigan, was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou. Upon release, Paulk will be supervised for 4 years.

Paulk pleaded guilty to a federal indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm earlier this year. Paulk was facing a mandatory sentence of 15 years due to a history of previous violent crimes, including assault with a dangerous weapon and unarmed robbery.

On July 14, 2020, Paulk appeared in the 30th Circuit Court in Ingham County and received a sentence of 36 to 270 months’ custody for the offense of unarmed robbery. However, Paulk did not appear to begin his sentence as ordered and was subsequently arrested on August 19, 2020.

At the time of his arrest, Paulk possessed a loaded 9mm pistol while seated inside a vehicle; the pistol had previously been reported stolen. Police found additional ammunition and a second firearm, a 10mm pistol, inside the same vehicle. National Integrated Ballistic Information Network testing determined that both firearms had been used in multiple 2020 shootings in the Lansing area, resulting in three non-fatal injuries.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge stated, “My office is committed to supporting local partner law enforcement agencies to prevent, interrupt, and deter violent crime – particularly gun violence. Those who, like Mr. Paulk, illegally possess guns traceable to shootings will get our attention and may face a very long time safely away from the communities they endanger.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin M. Pinkston and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Lansing Police Department as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative to reduce violent crime.

Project Safe Neighborhoods brings together the U.S. Attorney’s Office, county prosecutor’s offices, and federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to identify and prosecute individuals responsible for driving violent crime in our communities.

Individuals with information or concerns about violent crime or firearms offenses should contact local law enforcement. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit: https://www.justice.gov/psn