Morgan City felon gets over 4 years for possessing rifle

A 35-year-old Morgan City man was sentenced Friday to 50 months in prison and two years of supervised released for possessing a semi-automatic rifle after being convicted of a felony, U.S. Attorney David C. Joseph said in a news release.

Travis Trumaine Singleton was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert R. Summerhays. Singleton previously pleaded guilty to the federal charge April 16.

Morgan City police executed a search warrant Jan. 19 at his mother’s home and found an Eagle Arms, Model Eagle 15, multi-caliber, semi-automatic rifle and 29 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition, Joseph said. He later admitted that he was in possession of the rifle, and that he also took a photo of the firearm Jan. 17, which further documented his possession of the weapon, the release stated.

Singleton is a felon with a previous drug felony in state court. Under federal law, convicted felons are not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition.

The ATF, Chitimacha Tribal Police and Morgan City Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Myers P. Namie prosecuted the case.

Project Safe Neighborhoods the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. Project Safe Neighborhoods is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through the program, 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, the program focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime, the release said.