Man Sentenced For Third Federal Gun Crime

MOBILE, AL – Cornelius Jeremih Pruitt, 28, of Daphne, Alabama, was sentenced today on his third conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition. Court documents show that Pruitt was under federal supervision through the United States Probation Office for two prior federal convictions for felon in possession of a firearm when he was apprehended in July of 2023. Bay Minette police responded to a report of a man in a silver vehicle brandishing a weapon while driving in front of a residence. Officer began a patrol of the area an observed a silver vehicle parked in the middle of Means Avenue in the dark with no headlights on. Pruitt was the driver and sole occupant. As a result of the ensuing investigation, officers discovered a gun under his seat loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition. Pruitt told the police it was over for him, and admitted he was a convicted felon. Pruitt pled guilty to the charge in May of 2024. 

Judge Jeffery U. Beaverstock sentenced Pruitt to 30 months in prison on the new charge, and ordered that Pruitt serve 5 years of supervised release following his imprisonment. The judge further ordered that Pruitt’s supervised release term from his two prior felon in possession charges be revoked and that he serve 24 months imprisonment for his violation of that supervision. The judge ordered that Pruitt would be subjects to standard conditions of supervised release, as well as certain special conditions, including mental health counseling and treatment, drug and alcohol testing and treatment and the model search provision, which permits a search of his person and premises upon reasonable suspicion that he has violated his supervision. He was also ordered to pay $100 in special mandatory assessments. No fine was imposed but the firearm and ammunition seized from Pruitt was ordered forfeited to the United States.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bay Minette Police Department.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.