Jefferson Parish Man Sentenced for Possessing Unregistered Silencer

<_w3a_sdt contentlocked="t" docpart="11CB414A4DFD4E0AB55E8D6B0C069D78" id="483134106" text="t">NEW ORLEANS - JOSEPH METZLER, III ("METZLER"), age 44, of Gretna, Louisiana, was sentenced on July 23, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long for violating the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

According to court records, federal agents received information that METZLER was the recipient of unlawfully imported firearm parts from China. Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and officers from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, executed a search warrant at METZLER's residence. As a result, they discovered that he possessed a silencer that was not registered to him, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 5861(d).

Judge Long sentenced METZLER to 27 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release after imprisonment, along with a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Maestri of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.