NEW ORLEANS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that on December 19, 2019 KEVIN CRAWFORD (“CRAWFORD”), age 34, of New Orleans, was sentenced to 77 months imprisonment by Chief United States District Court Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown for being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. Additionally, CRAWFORD was ordered to serve three (3) years of supervised release and pay a $200.00 special assessment fee.
According to court documents, on April 12, 2018, New Orleans Police Department officers conducted a proactive patrol near 6100 N. Claiborne Ave. As the officers approached the area, CRAWFORD quickly walked away from a gold Infiniti sedan. Inside the sedan was an SKS, 7.62 x 39 mm caliber, semi-automatic rifle which was equipped with two extended magazines. CRAWFORD later admitted that he was the owner of the Infiniti.
On June 17, 2018, members of the New Orleans Police Department encountered CRAWFORD near 447 N. Rampart Street. This time, CRAWFORD drove a silver colored Infiniti (w/ a stolen temporary tag). When CRAWFORD returned to the vehicle, the officers approached to question him but he ran away. The officers apprehended CRAWFORD at the 1000 block of St. Louis Street. Inside the silver Infiniti was a chrome and black colored handgun sticking out from under the driver’s side car seat. The firearm was a stolen loaded Ruger Model P345, .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Due to his felon status, federal law prohibited CRAWFORD from possessing firearms.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) 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 Strasser praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Duane A. Evans is prosecuting the case.
