Department of Justice

BIRMINGHAM – An effort focused on domestic violence in gun crimes resulted in federal charges against six defendants, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

 

In separate and unrelated indictments, the grand jury charged LYNN GADSON, NICHOLAS CAMPBELL, KERRY ALFORD, KELVIN STRICKLAND, MONTEZ SPRADLEY, ANDRAE CROOK, as convicted felons in possession of firearms.  These investigations originated from local law enforcement responding to domestic violence calls.

 

The maximum penalty for being a felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

 

“These indictments represent the hard work of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners,” Town said.   “This is the new normal in that local investigators and prosecutors are cooperating with federal law enforcement more than ever before to get these trigger-pullers off of the streets.  Felons who possess firearms should expect to find themselves in federal court where, upon conviction, a federal sentence to a federal penitentiary is their reward.”

 

“ATF’s priority of reducing violent crime focuses on individuals responsible for domestic violence incidents involving firearms,” Watson stated.

 

In FY18, the United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Alabama prosecutions of illegal firearms cases rose 27% to 286, which is the largest number of illegal firearms prosecutions ever recorded in the Northern District of Alabama and accounted for about half of all federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office.  The previous high was 225, which was recorded in FY17.  Nationally, the prosecution of illegal firearms defendants accounts for approximately 1 in 6 of all federal prosecutions.  Project Safe Neighborhoods, the premier violent crimes reduction program reinvigorated by the Department of Justice in 2017, has continued to focus on habitual felony offenders engaged in violent behavior and the Department continues to break its own records for federal prosecutions as a result.