Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
WASHINGTON – Jayvon Gattison, 24, a previously convicted killer and resident of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 40 months in prison for being in possession of a loaded gun and a bag full of marijuana and cocaine when he was arrested by police for smoking a joint while still on probation.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Gattison pleaded guilty Jan. 15, 2025, to unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb ordered Gattison to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, in October 2018, Gattison shot and killed man who tried to rob him during a drug transaction. On October 9, 2024, just three months after he was released from prison in that case and while he was still on probation, Gattison was arrested with the loaded firearm and bag full of drugs.
About 7 p.m on Oct. 9, members of the MPD Robbery Suppression Unit were patrolling on the 3000 block of Channing Street NE, when they observed a group of five individuals smoking next to a silver Lexus. As the investigators approached the group, which included Gattison, the officers recognized the smell of burning marijuana. All the individuals were detained.
An officer took the marijuana cigarette from Gattison’s hand, removed a bag from Gattison’s shoulder, and arrested Gattison for public consumption of marijuana. The joint field-tested positive for THC. Another officer looked into the open top of Gattison’s bag with a flashlight and saw a large bag of suspected marijuana and a loaded black Glock 17 9mm pistol.
Also in the bag was a clear plastic bag containing 12 grams of a white rock substance which field tested positive for cocaine base, a black digital scale, and $320.80 in cash.
Gattison has a prior criminal felony conviction. On December 5, 2019, he was sentenced to a 10-year term, four years suspended, followed by three years of probation for voluntary manslaughter in Prince Georges County, Maryland.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan McFadden and was previously prosecuted by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Mirabelli.
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An an image captured on a body-worn camera, an MPD officer reaches to take a marijuana cigarette from the hand of Jayvon Gattison on Oct. 9, 2024. Gattison subsequently was found to be in possession of a loaded Glock 17 9mm pistol, additional cannabis, and crack cocaine.