Reno, Nev. – A man with eight prior felony convictions was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison for carrying a loaded gun into a Reno casino, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

James Clifton Jackson, 48, of Reno, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones. Jackson was convicted by a jury in February of felon in possession of a firearm.

On Oct. 30, 2011, Jackson entered the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno carrying a leather bag. Jackson sat at a slot machine for about 30 minutes, and then got up and walked away, leaving the bag next to the machine. A slot machine attendant recovered the bag and found a loaded gun inside along with Jackson's library card.

Jackson has eight prior felony convictions, including a cocaine distribution conviction in Virginia in 1991, an attempted robbery conviction in Las Vegas in 1998, and a battery with a deadly weapon conviction in Reno in 2004, which led to a finding by Judge Jones that Jackson was an armed career criminal and should receive a more severe sentence.

The case was investigated by the Reno Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys William R. Reed and Megan Rachow. The case was screened through the Northern Nevada Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, a team of federal and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors who meet on a regular basis to discuss arrests involving guns and explosives. Project Safe Neighborhoods, also known as PSN, is a Department of Justice initiative and a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crime in America.

Return to Top