Category: Security

Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

RICHMOND, Va. – Two Richmond-area men were sentenced to prison and a third was convicted this week for being felons in possession of firearms.

According to court documents, Devon Sherman Mickins, 26, came to the attention of Richmond Police (RPD) on August 30, 2024, when he posted a photograph of himself on Instagram holding a rifle. On Sept. 4, 2024, an RPD detective observed Mickins carrying the same rifle that he was holding on Instagram. Mickins sat in a chair outside his apartment with the rifle. RPD detectives and officers approached Mickins, who had the rifle in his lap. Mickins complied with an order to put his hands up and a detective safely retrieved the rifle, and Mickins was taken into custody. Police recovered another firearm from the apartment.

Mickins has prior felony convictions for malicious wounding, robbery, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, all of which he committed in Richmond in 2019 and 2021.

Mickins pled guilty on March 6. He was sentenced yesterday to three years and eight months in prison by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Groover, an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney with the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, prosecuted the case.

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On Sept. 29, 2024, RPD officers observed Javion Stamper, 25, standing with a small group, and Stamper appeared to have a firearm in the waistband of his pants. The officers stopped their vehicle to investigate, and Stamper fled as the officers exited the vehicle. After a foot pursuit, one of the officers heard Stamper behind a cluster of bushes and ordered him to come out. Stamper complied and was detained. An officer recovered the firearm from where Stamper had attempted to hide. The firearm had been stolen and was loaded. Stamper had been convicted of robbery in 2019.

Stamper pled guilty on April 25. He was sentenced yesterday to a year and nine months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Gilliland, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Anthony prosecuted the case.

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On May 7, 2024, Henrico County Police (HCPD) officers conducted a traffic stop on Ross Allan Jefferson, 44, who was subject to outstanding warrants in Richmond and Petersburg. During the stop, an officer observed a loaded handgun with an extended magazine protruding from beneath the driver’s seat. The officer secured the firearm, the serial number of which had been obliterated. During a search of Jefferson, officers located a .40 caliber round of ammunition in Jefferson’s pocket.

At the time of his arrest, Jefferson had ten adult felony convictions, including: possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (2002); possession of a controlled substance (2002, 2010, 2015); and possession of ammunition by a felon (2015).

Jefferson pled guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20 and faces up to 15 years in prison. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne accepted the plea. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gilliland and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony are prosecuting the case.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police; Eric D. English, Chief of Henrico County Police Division; Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; and Colette Wallace McEachin, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Richmond, made the announcement.

These cases are 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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 3:25-cr-8 (Mickins), 3:25-cr-18 (Stamper), and 3:24-cr-130 (Jefferson).

Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Five individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their alleged roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that involved the sale of drugs to an undercover agent.  One man was also indicted on firearm charges.

Marcellus W. Anderson, 31, Tyra K. M. McGee, 37, Virgil D. Tillman, 41, and Martin A. Holloman, 40, all of Kansas City, Mo.; and Ricky M. Bowie, 25, of Kansas City, Kan., were charged in a 14-count superseding indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.  That indictment was unsealed and made public earlier this week upon the arrest and initial court appearance of Bowie.  Tillman and Holloman were also arrested this week.

The superseding indictment replaces the original indictment returned on June 27, which only charged Marcellus Anderson and Tyra McGee, and includes the additional defendants.

The federal indictment alleges that all five defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine between Dec. 1, 2023, and June 11, 2025.

Additionally, Anderson is charged with three counts of distribution of cocaine, one count of distribution of methamphetamine, five counts of distribution of fentanyl, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  According to the indictment, Anderson possessed a Glock, Model 27, .40 caliber pistol on Jan. 29, 2025.

McGee is charged with Anderson in one count of distributing fentanyl and one count of distributing a fentanyl analogue.  Bowie, Tillman, and Holloman are charged with Anderson in one separate count each of distributing fentanyl.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original complaint that was filed against Anderson and McGee on June 12, Anderson sold cocaine to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on three occasions, methamphetamine on one occasion, fentanyl on six occasions, and a fentanyl analogue on one occasion.  McGee participated in one of the fentanyl transactions and the fentanyl analogue transaction.  Additionally, Anderson had a Glock, Model 27, .40 caliber pistol in his lap during one of the transactions, which he commented was for protection.  Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.  Anderson has a prior felony conviction for receiving stolen firearms.

The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Jennings. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department; and the Missouri Western Interdiction and Narcotics Task Force.

Operation Take Back America

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).