Ohio Man Found Asleep at the Wheel with a Loaded Gun Sentenced to 12.5 Years in Prison

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A Mahoning County man who was prohibited from possessing a firearm has been sentenced to prison after police officers found him unresponsive in his vehicle with a loaded gun.

Jermaine C. Bunn, 49, of Youngstown, was sentenced to 150 months (12.5 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after a federal jury found him guilty in May of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. His previous convictions include assault in 1997 and possession of cocaine in 2010 and 2021. Bunn was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on Oct. 25, 2024, Youngstown police officers responded to a 911 call about a driver reportedly passed out in a vehicle. When officers arrived on scene, they found the car running and the defendant asleep at the wheel in the driver's seat. An officer noticed a black handgun was sitting near the door handle. Officers also noted that there was an alcoholic beverage in the cup holder. The firearm possessed by Bunn was a loaded Springfield Armory Model XDE-9, 9 mm, semi-automatic pistol. As a felon, Bunn is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Youngstown Field Office, the Mahoning Valley Violent Crime Task Force, and the Youngstown Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Yasmine Makridis and Joseph P. Dangelo for the Northern District of Ohio.