Meridian Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

Jackson, Miss.  – A Meridian man pled guilty today to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, Ernest Quintez Clark, 24, a convicted felon, was found in possession of a handgun while attending a Meridian High School football game on October 20, 2023.

Clark is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1, 2024 and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement.

The Meridian Schools Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Goff is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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.