Sunday, October 06, 2019

Repeat Federal Offender Pleads Guilty under Project EJECT to Illegally Possessing Firearm



Hattiesburg, Miss. – Jonas A. Windham, 37, of Laurel, pled guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Michelle A. Sutphin, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Mississippi.

Windham was previously convicted of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm in the Southern District of Mississippi in 2013 and was sentenced to serve 78 months in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.  He was still on federal supervised release at the time of his arrest for the current offense.  On June 18, 2019, Windham was found in possession of two firearms during the execution of a search warrant at his residence.

Windham will be sentenced by Judge Starrett on January 9, 2020 at 10:30 a.m.  He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for “Empower Justice Expel Crime Together.” PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Laurel Police Department investigated the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew W. Eichner.

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