NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that defendant, DARIUS WILLIAMS a/k/a “D-Nice," of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced on Aug. 10, 2022 by U.S. District Court Judge Lance M. Africk to a prison term of eighty (80) months for being a felon in possession of a firearm, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, 922(g)(1). Judge Africk also ordered that WILLIAMS be placed on supervised release for a term of three (3) years following his release from imprisonment. WILLIAMS was also ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to documents filed in federal court, on Oct. 30, 2020, WILLIAMS was observed openly brandishing a weapon while walking through the Pigeon Town neighborhood of New Orleans by New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) detectives. In 2019, WILLIAMS was convicted of drug possession in Jefferson Parish, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term of more than one year. As such, WILLIAMS is prohibited from possessing firearms.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assisted NOPD in the arrest of WILLIAMS on Oct. 30, 2020.
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Trummel of the Violent Crime Unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office.