Jackson, Miss. – Jordan Thomas, 24, of Vidalia, Louisiana, pled guilty today to possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a felony crime, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Kurt Thielhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Jackson Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

According to court documents, on April 13, 2020, sheriff deputies in Adams County, Mississippi stopped a car for a traffic violation.  Due to the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, sheriff’s deputies identified the passenger as Jordan Rashard Thomas who possessed a firearm concealed in his waistband under his sweatshirt. Thomas had previously been twice convicted of burglary in Concordia Parish, Louisiana.

Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on April 12, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bert Carraway is prosecuting the case.

This case is being 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 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.