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NEW ORLEANS – On July 28, 2021, United States District Judge Lance M. Africk sentenced Olin Grant, Jr., to ninety months in the federal Bureau of Prisons for being in possession of a machinegun and a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

Grant was charged on June 20, 2019 and pled guilty in a plea agreement with the government on November 20, 2019. In one count, he pled guilty to possession of a machinegun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(o). For the purposes of the National Firearms Act, the term “machinegun” means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can readily be restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger; the frame or receiver of any such weapon; any part designed and intended solely and exclusively or combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun; or any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. Judge Africk sentenced Grant to thirty years on that count, to be followed by three years of supervised release

In another count, Grant also pled guilty and was sentenced to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c). Judge Africk sentenced Grant to sixty years, to run consecutive to any other terms of imprisonment, and five years of supervised release.  Grant was also ordered to pay a $200 mandatory special assessment fee for both counts.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence- based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, 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.

U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Gretna Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Brittany Reed and Melissa Bücher.