A 39-year-old Lafayette man was sentenced on Monday to 110 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph announced. The defendant was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.
According to the guilty plea, a concerned citizen contacted the Lafayette police on January 22, 2018, to report an unconscious man behind the wheel of a car at the intersection of Evangeline Thruway and Mudd Avenue. An officer approached the vehicle and saw Kenyatta Edmond slumped forward appearing to be asleep, and noticed a pistol in Edmond’s lap with his hand around the grip. When questioned, Edmond told the officer that he had a second firearm in the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed a Beretta Model PX4 Storm .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Taurus Model Judge .410 gauge revolver. After further investigation, it was discovered that the revolver had been previously reported stolen and that Edmond has four prior felony convictions.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The ATF Lafayette Field Office and the Lafayette Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamilla A. Bynog prosecuted the case.
