Previously convicted felons sentenced to federal prison for crimes including illegal possession of firearms

AUGUSTA, GA:  Two men will serve federal prison terms after being sentenced as convicted felons for crimes including illegal possession of firearms.

Shakur Wafi Abdullah, a/k/a Antonio Griffin, 37, of Augusta, was sentenced to 70 months in prison by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall after pleading guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Jesse Daniel Roberts, 51, of Augusta, was sentenced to 57 months in prison by Chief Judge Hall after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. After completion of their prison terms, each defendant will be required to serve three years of supervised release.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Our streets are safer when repeat offenders with illegally possessed firearms are taken off our streets, and our office will continue to make them a high priority for prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “In accordance with the U.S. Attorney General’s priorities announced as part of Project Guardian, our law enforcement partners likewise are committed to protecting our citizens from gun criminals.”

As described in court documents and testimony, Abdullah was arrested in February 2019 after being involved in a vehicle crash on Peach Orchard Road in Augusta. Witnesses saw him hide items from his vehicle behind a nearby business, and Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies later found a bundle containing packages of cocaine and a pistol that Abdullah admitted belonged to him. Abdullah was on probation after serving 11 years of an 18-year sentence on a state charge of aggravated assault.

Roberts, who had recently been released on parole from state prison, was arrested in August 2019 when agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and officers from the Georgia Department of Supervision (DCS) conducted a probation visit to Roberts’ motel room and found an AR-15 rifle and ammunition.

“These defendants have no business carrying firearms, given their previous criminal conduct,” said Beau Kolodka, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the ATF. “These sentences have made the Augusta area safer.”

The cases were investigated by the ATF, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the DCS and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, and prosecuted for the United States by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Edwin Caban and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Syms.