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Gulfport, Miss – Paul Leon Heathcoe, 53, of Moss Point, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to illegal possession of a sawed-off shotgun, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Kurt Thielhorn, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Heathcoe will be sentenced by Judge Ozerden on March 19, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On July 21, 2018, a woman arrived at the emergency room of a hospital in Jackson County and informed law enforcement that Heathcoe had assaulted her and was in possession of a sawed-off shotgun. Heathcoe is a convicted felon and therefore prohibited from legally possessing a firearm. As a result, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies obtained an arrest warrant for Heathcoe and a search warrant for his residence.
Upon executing the search warrant, deputies discovered a shotgun with a barrel measuring a little over 12 inches and an overall length of approximately 19 inches. Both the stock and the barrel had been cut off. Law enforcement also found a modified holster that Heathcoe used to wear the shotgun around the house according to the victim.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms investigated the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams.
This case is part of Project EJECT, an initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). EJECT is a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to fighting and reducing violent crime through prosecution, prevention, re-entry and awareness. EJECT stands for “Empower Justice Expel Crime Together.” PSN is bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
