NEW ORLEANS, LA — 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, LA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that JOSEPH P. SCHWARTZ, IV (“SCHWARTZ”), age 21, of Marrero, La., was sentenced on December 17, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion after previously pleading guilty to possessing a machine gun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(o) and 924(a)(2). SCHWARTZ was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, three (3) years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
According to court documents, on February 25, 2022, while patrolling Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, Louisiana State Police (LSP) troopers observed two males engaged in an altercation. One male, later determined to be SCHWARTZ, possessed a concealed firearm. As Troopers attempted to stop him, SCHWARTZ resisted and fled through the Mardi Gras crowds with the gun in his hand. Ignoring repeated law enforcement commands to stop, he discarded the weapon in a trash can. SCHWARTZ was apprehended thereafter, and the firearm recovered. It was later determined that the recovered firearm, a Glock Model 23, .40 caliber pistol, with a Glock auto-sear, had been modified to enable automatic fire.
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 Louisiana State Police in investigating this matter. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James N. Ollinger of the Violent Crime Unit.
