The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Georgia has sentenced a Jackson County man to 15 years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as an armed career criminal.
According to a press release from the office, Brandon Mason, 34, of Commerce, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story to 15 years in prison, followed by four years of supervised release.
The release said the sentencing related to a shooting incident that happened in Commerce on Oct. 6, 2019. The victim in the shooting identified Brandon Mason as the shooter. Investigators determined bullets had pierced the back windshield of the victim's car, pierced the driver's headrest and exited through the front windshield of the vehicle. Authorities also found .40 caliber shell casings at the scene. Mason was arrested about an hour after the shooting and was found in possession of a .40 caliber pistol.
Mason pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm on Dec. 21, 2020, in connection with the shooting.
“The Armed Career Criminal statute was written for defendants like Mason whose drug trafficking and violence pose a significant risk to public safety,” U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said in a prepared statement. “Our partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement officers, and community stakeholders, are helping to achieve meaningful reductions in violent crime in these communities.”
The Armed Career Criminal statute is enforced against felons who have three or more previous violent felony or serious drug convictions.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Commerce Police Department.
“The Commerce Police Department was honored to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in an effort to hold Brandon Mason accountable for his actions," Kenneth Harmon Jr., Chief of Police, City of Commerce said. "Brandon Mason has routinely reoffended upon returning to our community. The opportunity to prosecute this case through Project Safe Neighborhoods will aid us in our efforts to keep Commerce a safe community to thrive in. Mason has demonstrated time and again a propensity to commit violent acts that create an unsafe negative environment in the neighborhood he grew up in. The sentence imposed should stand as both accountability for Brandon Mason as well as a deterrent to others that would consider the commission of violent acts intended to disrupt the safety, tranquility, and quality of life in the City of Commerce."
http://accesswdun.com/article/2022/3/1088617/jackson-county-man-sentenced-as-armed-career-criminal