A convicted felon with a violent criminal history is facing a maximum ten years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm, said Peter D. Leary, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
According to the District Attorney’s office, 36-year-old Janorick Antwon Ford, of Milledgeville, pleaded guilty to one count possession of a firearm by a convicted felon before U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell. Ford faces a maximum 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Ford will be sentenced on June 10. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working closely with law enforcement in the Milledgeville area and across the Middle District of Georgia to identify violent and repeat felons in illegal possession of guns for federal prosecution,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leary. “I want to thank the law enforcement agencies involved in this case for their continued efforts to reduce violent crime in our communities.”
“If convicted violent felons want to continue wreaking havoc in our communities, we have laws to help keep them off the streets,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Thanks to an alert Baldwin County Sheriff deputy and our law enforcement partnerships, Ford was charged with a federal felony that will remove him from our community for a long time.”
Ford was stopped for a routine traffic violation by a Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Feb. 10, 2020 at about 10:20 a.m. According to prosecutors, the deputy smelled marijuana and observed an open container of alcohol inside the vehicle. Following a legal search of the vehicle, which included the seizure of six bags of suspected drugs and digital scales, along with other illegal drug paraphernalia, deputies found a loaded 9mm caliber pistol in the glove compartment. Ford was previously convicted of aggravated assault in Baldwin County Superior Court and possession of cocaine in Hancock County Superior Court.
Police say Ford admitted the loaded weapon was his and that it was illegal for him to possess a gun given his felony history.
The investigation was conducted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. The projet is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through the project, 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.
The case was investigated by the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocmulgee Drug Task Force and the FBI-Macon Field Office. Criminal Chief Michael Solis and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul McCommon are prosecuting the case for the Government. Questions can be directed to Pamela Lightsey, Public Information Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603 or Melissa Hodges, Public Affairs Officer (Contractor), U.S. Attorney’s Office, at (478) 765-2362.
