Category: United States of America

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

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Two Trumbull County men have been arrested on a federal criminal complaint for allegedly committing firearms violations in connection with a convenience store shooting Aug. 3, in Warren, Ohio, that left one person dead.

The individuals facing federal charges are:

• Jumal Ellis Rowe, 32, charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm; previous convictions for trafficking and possession of cocaine.
• Rayjon Ray Mcelroy, 25, charged with possession of ammunition by a person previously convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Both men are from Warren.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, on Aug. 3 the Warren Police Department and the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for service in reference to multiple gunshots and reports of an individual suffering from gunshot wounds at a Convenient Food Mart in Warren. Investigators reviewing footage from the store’s video surveillance found that around 5 a.m., several individuals were loitering and playing a dice game on the walkway just outside the main door. A fight broke out shortly thereafter and eventually escalated into a mass shooting incident in the parking lot between multiple individuals. One individual was later pronounced dead and another injured as a result.

Officials with the Warren Police Department were able to identify Rowe and Mcelroy from the store’s surveillance video. Investigators observed Mcelroy in possession of a Kel-Tec Sub 2000, 5.7 caliber folding firearm when the fight broke out. Rowe was also observed in the store’s surveillance video in possession of a firearm that investigators identified as a Glock, Model 23Gen4, .40 caliber, semi-automatic pistol. In the video, Rowe was seen between two parked vehicles, shooting at others.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio; Acting Special Agent in Charge John Smerglia of the ATF Cleveland Field Office; and Warren Police Chief Eric J. Merkel made the announcement.

If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to this case, including each defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Youngstown Satellite Office, Warren Police Department, and the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Yasmine Makridis for the Northern District of Ohio.

A criminal complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information should contact the Warren Police Department at 330-841-2658. 

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

TYLER, Texas –A Jacksonville convicted felon has been sentenced to federal prison for a firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Eric Pryor, 52, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on August 21, 2025.

According to information presented in court, on November 17, 2023, local law enforcement responded to a call regarding reckless driving. When they arrived at the location, they were shown doorbell security camera footage of an individual later identified as Pryor, stepping out of a car and firing four shots at a truck. The truck went through the front yard of the residence to avoid the shots.  The two vehicles were soon located on Highway 135 and Pryor admitted to firing the handgun at the truck.  Further investigation revealed Pryor had several prior felony convictions, including burglary of a building, possession of a controlled substance, theft of a firearm, evading arrest with a vehicle, and felon in possession of a firearm. As a convicted felon, Pryor is prohibited by federal law from owning or possessing firearms.

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).

This case was investigated by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.

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

COVINGTON, Ky. – A Cincinnati, Ohio, man, Deshawn Parker, 30, was sentenced on Thursday, by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning to 24­­­­ months in prison, for possession of a machinegun. 

According to court documents, on September 21, 2024, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Parker’s vehicle in Covington and detected the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. When they asked Parker to exit the car to conduct a drug investigation, Parker refused and attempted to drive off. Officers were able to remove him from the vehicle and found a small amount of marijuana and spent shell casings from a firearm. Additionally, they found a loaded pistol under the driver’s seat. The pistol was equipped with a machinegun conversion device (MCD). These devices are commonly referred to as “switches” or “Glock switches.”

Under federal law, Parker must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, John Nokes, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, Louisville Field Division; and Chief Brian Valenti, Covington Police Department, jointly announced the conviction.

The investigation was conducted by ATF and the Covington Police Department. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented in the case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Bracke.

This case is 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.

 

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

CHICAGO — A man has been sentenced to more than four and a half years in federal prison for illegally possessing a loaded handgun in a Chicago residence full of children.

BRANDON JOHNSON illegally possessed the gun on Jan. 25, 2020, in a residence on Chicago’s Near West Side.  Chicago Police officers were called to the residence by an individual who claimed that Johnson had brandished the gun and threatened to shoot the individual.  Several children were inside the residence when Johnson illegally possessed the firearm.

Johnson had previously been convicted of multiple felonies and was not lawfully allowed to possess a firearm.

Johnson, 37, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a federal firearm charge.  On Aug. 13, 2025, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey imposed a 55-month prison sentence.  Johnson has been in law enforcement custody since December 2020 and will receive credit for time served.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher C. Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department.

“The City of Chicago has been plagued by gun violence for many years,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Prashant Kolluri argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “The possession of a loaded firearm is a significant contributor to that gun violence.”