New Orleans Man Sentenced for Violating the Federal Controlled Substances and Federal Gun Control Acts

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA -JEROME JONES, age 34, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown for violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act and the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court records, JONES pled guilty to Counts Three, Five, Six, and Seven of a seven-count superseding indictment. Count Three charged JONES with possessing, with the intent to distribute, more than 40 grams of fentanyl, more than 100 grams of heroin, and a quantity of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), and (b)(1)(C). Count Five charged JONES with possessing, with the intent to distribute, a quantity of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Count Six charged JONES with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Count Seven charged JONES with being a felon in possession of firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

According to court records, the New Orleans Police Department had developed JONES, and his co-defendant, as suspects in an attempted French Quarter murder that occurred in January 2022. In February 2022, NOPD executed a search warrant at a home where JONES and the co-defendant stayed and found a large quantity of narcotics and distribution paraphernalia in the kitchen. The police also found clothing that the suspects had been seen wearing during the attempted murder. During a subsequent search, the police found a Glock Model 22, .40 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, bearing serial number MVF683, with a 50 round drum magazine and a Romarm/Cugir Model Mini Draco, caliber 7.62x39, semi-automatic pistol, bearing serial number PE-2617-2018RO, along with several banana clips and over 140 grams of heroin. JONES was not at the residence during the search and remained at large until October 2022, when he was arrested at the same residence.

Chief Judge Brown sentenced JONES to a total of 165 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. Specifically, Judge Brown sentenced JONES to 105 months imprisonment on each of Counts Three, Five, and Seven, to run concurrently, and to 60 months on Count Six, to run consecutively. Judge Brown also ordered JONES to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 per count, for a total of $400.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller, Senior Litigation Counsel.