Department of Justice

JACKSON, Miss. – An Anniston, Alabama, man was sentenced to 314 months in prison for two counts of robbery, two counts of using or carrying a firearm in connection with crimes of violence and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jonathan Lewis Jennings, 32, robbed a liquor store and a convenience store in Meridian, Mississippi, at gunpoint on January 15, 2018. Evidence collected by the Meridian Police Department established Jennings’ identity as the perpetrator through DNA analysis. ATF agents conducted follow-up investigative measures that further confirmed Jennings’ involvement in and planning of the robberies. Jennings is a convicted felon, and it was therefore also unlawful for him to possess the firearm he used during the robberies.

Jennings was found guilty by a jury on December 12, 2022, following a trial in U.S. District Court.   

The Meridian Police Department and the ATF investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam T. Stuart and Charles W. Kirkham prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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 works 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.

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