Richard Elijah Jacobs, Machine Guns and Narcotics Charges, Virginia 2025
South Boston Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Machine Guns and Narcotics Charges
A South Boston man was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for brandishing a machine gun and possessing distribution quantities of cocaine and marijuana. Richard Elijah Jacobs, 27, was found guilty of possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, possessing a machine gun in furtherance of drug trafficking, and possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
According to evidence presented at trial and sentencing, on February 3, 2024, South Boston Police officers responded to a 911 call reporting that two men in a Jaguar brandished firearms at people in downtown South Boston causing the people to flee. Officers quickly found Jacobs beside the reported Jaguar, parked in a nearby shopping plaza. His chambered and loaded firearms were in the car: a .45-caliber Glock pistol with a 40-round drum magazine beneath the driver’s floormat and a RF-15 pistol behind the driver’s seat, both equipped with machine gun conversion devices allowing fully automatic fire.
The Jaguar’s trunk contained thousands of dollars’ worth of cocaine powder, cocaine base, and marijuana, as well as paraphernalia for packaging and distributing the drugs. Alexander James Hiett, Jacobs’s passenger on February 3, 2024, previously pled guilty to related gun charges and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
Assistant United States Attorneys Drew Inman and Kelly McGann prosecuted the case for the United States. The South Boston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. The United States also extends its thanks to the Halifax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance.
Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci stated, “The Western District will seek firm and swift accountability against those who illegally possess machine guns and other firearms while trafficking narcotics in the Western District of Virginia.” ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood added, “Today’s sentence sends a clear and unequivocal message: those that repeatedly violate federal firearms laws and terrorize our communities will be held accountable.”
Richard Elijah Jacobs, 27, was found guilty of:
- Possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana.
- Possessing a machine gun in furtherance of drug trafficking.
- Possessing firearms as a convicted felon.
He was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on in Roanoke, Virginia.
Thousands of dollars’ worth of cocaine powder, cocaine base, and marijuana were found in the Jaguar’s trunk.
The case was investigated by the South Boston Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime|Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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