United States of America v. Laverne Jacobs

Charlotte, North Carolina criminal defense lawyer represented defendant charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.



On June 28, 2020, a man called 911 and alerted dispatchers that Jacobs was in front of his house, that Jacobs threatened to shoot him in the head, and that he observed Laverne Jacobs, 30, of Charlotte, putting bullets into a firearm. A CMPD officer dispatched to the scene heard gunshots while she was approaching the victim's residence and saw Jacobs with a firearm in his hand. As the officer approached the defendant, he fled the scene and threw the firearm into the woods. CMPD officers apprehended Jacobs and recovered the firearm, which was loaded with one round of ammunition in the chamber. Officers also located two projectile holes in the victim's residence. At the time of the shooting, there were three individuals inside the home. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement determined that the firearm had been reported stolen.



Jacobs has multiple previous state convictions including robbery, breaking and entering, selling drugs, and assault on a female, and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.



Jacobs is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.



The investigation was handled by ATF and CMPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.



18:922(g)(1): POSSESSION OF FIREARM BY PROHIBITED PERSON



(g) It shall be unlawful for any person—



(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

Defendant was sentenced to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.