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Crime & Courts

Georgia Man Sentenced to 14 Years for Illegal Firearm Possession

Jesse James Williams Jr., a convicted felon with a history of violent crimes, was sentenced in federal court.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 26, 2026, 3:08 p.m. ET
Developing · checked 1h ago

This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 26, 2026, 3:38 p.m. ET — checked 1h ago.

ATLANTA – Jesse James Williams Jr., 51, of Decatur, Georgia, was on August 25, 2026, to 14 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia. The sentencing was announced on August 26, 2026, by the U.S. Attorney's Office. A jury found Williams guilty on December 18, 2025, of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after a four-day trial. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, on May 29, 2024, a Gwinnett County police officer stopped Williams's car for speeding and recovered a stolen pistol and a baggie of crack cocaine from his waistband. Law enforcement later linked the gun to a shooting in Decatur that injured a woman. Prior to the 2024 arrest, Williams had more than a dozen felony convictions, including cocaine trafficking, robbery, burglary, and weapon possession. In 2011, he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for killing a man over a $10 drug debt. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said, "Amassing more than a dozen felony convictions, this violent, incorrigible defendant spent decades breaking the law." FBI Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham stated, "Williams has demonstrated time and again that he has no regard for the law or the safety of others." The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from multiple agencies, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dash A. Cooper and Phyllis Clerk.

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  1. Version 126 Aug 2026, 19:08current

    First published.

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