Memphis Man Receives Second Federal Conviction for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm as An Armed Career Criminal

LITTLE ROCK-A Memphis, Tennessee, man on federal supervised release after a conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm in Tennessee was convicted by a federal jury for committing the same crime, this time in Arkansas. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the guilty verdict, which was handed down on Wednesday.

A federal grand jury indicted Percy Jackson, 40, on June 6, 2024, charging him with three counts: being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. The three-day trial was held before Chief United States District Judge Kristine G. Baker. The federal jury deliberated approximately three hours before returning a guilty verdict on count one, felon in possession of a firearm. Jackson was found not guilty of counts two and three.

Jackson was released from federal prison on September 28, 2022, after serving 15 years for his first federal gun conviction. The evidence at trial revealed that on October 10, 2023, West Memphis Police Department officers conducted a traffic stop on a car driven by Jackson for having a defective brake light and expired tags. Jackson was the only occupant of the vehicle and appeared nervous and sweating when questioned by law enforcement officers. Jackson was removed from the vehicle and law enforcement officers conducted a search of the vehicle. During the search, under the driver's seat officers located a loaded Ruger 9mm firearm that had been previously reported stolen. A baggie with pills that contained fentanyl was found in the glove compartment.

At the time of this incident, Jackson was on supervised release with the Western District of Tennessee for a felon in possession of a firearm conviction.

Because of this previous conviction and his violent criminal history, Jackson will be sentenced at a later date by Judge Baker under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Jackson's past criminal history includes four convictions for aggravated robbery, a conviction for facilitation of especially aggravated robbery, and the previous conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Jackson will, for a second time, face a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the West Memphis Police Department and the Second Judicial Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Eldridge.

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Additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

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