Jeremiah Clinton Gray, a 43-year-old resident of Blue Ridge, Georgia, has been sentenced to one year and four months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
Court records show that on July 22, 2024, law enforcement responded to reports about an individual carrying a firearm, body armor, and a badge inside a business in Jackson County, Ohio. The man, later identified as Gray, left the scene in a vehicle without license plates and fled from police during an attempted traffic stop. The pursuit continued into West Virginia where officers used spike strips to stop the vehicle in Charleston. Authorities arrested Gray and found he had a loaded Taurus model 1911 Officer 9mm pistol on him and a loaded Mossberg model 590 Shockwave .410-gauge shotgun inside the vehicle.
Federal regulations bar individuals with felony convictions from possessing firearms or ammunition. Gray was aware of this restriction due to his prior conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 500 grams of cocaine. That conviction occurred on October 20, 2023, in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
“Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the West Virginia State Police and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.”
Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber handed down the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum prosecuted the case.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at addressing illegal immigration issues, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and reducing violent crime through collaboration between various federal programs such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
Further information about this case can be accessed via PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-35 on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for the Southern District of West Virginia.
