Acting United States Attorney April M. Leon announced that Ledale Deanthony Sawyer, 35, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison. Judge John W. deGravelles handed down the sentence following Sawyer's conviction for possession of a stolen firearm. Sawyer will also serve three years of supervised release after his imprisonment, and the firearm seized during the investigation will be forfeited.
The charges stem from events on July 16, 2023, when Baton Rouge Police officers responded to a domestic disturbance call. The caller, identified as Victim-1, reported that Sawyer was in her residence with an AR-15 rifle. Upon arriving, officers recovered the firearm, a Wise Arms, Model WA-15B rifle, hidden by Victim-1. Sawyer, who had a distinctive tattoo on his neck with the name "Sawyer," was identified and arrested a block away from the residence.
Further investigation revealed the firearm had been reported stolen on June 22, 2023. Victim-2, in that incident, had been threatened with a firearm during a transaction to sell a television, and the gun was taken from her vehicle. Pictures of Sawyer holding a firearm, posted on his public social media on June 30, 2023, were compared to the seized firearm. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives confirmed the firearm matched the one in the photos based on specific markings and scratches.
The investigation, carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Baton Rouge Police Department, was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristen Lundin Craig.