Convicted Felon Charged with Illegal Firearm Possession

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal grand jury today charged a convicted felon with illegal firearm possession, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.

A one-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Deanglo Rashad Stephens, 32, of Birmingham, with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to the indictment, on November 13, 2021, Stephens unlawfully possessed a FN 9mm pistol.  Stephens is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions.  In October 2021, Stephens pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, and was out on bond awaiting sentencing at the time of the new offense.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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. 

ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittney Plyler is prosecuting the case.