SHREVEPORT, LA – Two men are headed to federal prison after a September 2022 traffic stop in Shreveport uncovered a cache of illegal weapons, including machine guns. Tedric Deshun Ratcliff, 30, of Shreveport, and Elijah D. Brown, 24, of Fort Worth, Texas, received sentences this week after being convicted of federal firearms charges.
U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced Ratcliff to 57 months in prison, while Brown received a 42-month sentence. Both men will also serve 3 years of supervised release after completing their prison terms. Judge Hicks notably handed down an upward departure from sentencing guidelines for Brown, citing the severity of the offense.
The case unfolded when Shreveport Police Department officers responded to a report of armed individuals at the Peach Street Apartments. They spotted an individual carrying an AR-style rifle entering a vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed three firearms: a Glock .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine, a Glock 9mm pistol with an extended magazine, and a Palmetto Arms 7.62 AR rifle. Two of the firearms were later determined to be stolen. The Palmetto Arms rifle contained a drop-in auto sear, a device that illegally converts it into a machine gun, and was registered to Elijah D. Brown.
Further investigation uncovered a tan Glock 19 9mm pistol with an illegal Glock switch – another machine gun conversion device – hidden under a backpack containing Brown’s personal belongings. Photos on Brown’s phone depicted him wielding the modified Glock. Records checks with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) confirmed that the Glock switches were unregistered and Brown had no legitimate registrations for such devices. Brown was charged with possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm not registered to him in NFRTR.
Ratcliff was charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun. U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown stated the sentences should serve as a “strong message” to those illegally possessing machine guns in the community. “Together with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to weed out these bad seeds in our communities,” he said. The investigation was a joint effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Shreveport Police Department.
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice initiative aimed at reducing violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and local communities. The program focuses on targeting violent criminals and implementing locally-based strategies to improve neighborhood safety. Assistant United States Attorney J. Aaron Crawford prosecuted the case.
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