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A Selma man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in U.S. Federal Court for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

A jury found Jarriet Rascoe, 32, guilty after a trial in Selma last September, according to U.S. Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama.

U.S. District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer imposed a sentence of 46 months’ incarceration, followed by a three-year term of supervised release.  During that time, Rascoe will undergo testing and treatment for substance abuse.  The judge ordered Rascoe to pay $100 in special assessments.

Evidence presented at the trial showed that the Selma Police Department (SPD) conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle being driven by Rascoe for speeding on Feb. 7, 2019. Rascoe did not have a driver’s license or insurance, and the vehicle had a switched tag.

Rascoe denied knowledge of anything illegal inside the vehicle but refused consent to search its contents.  Police walked a narcotics detection K-9 around the vehicle.  The K-9 alerted for the presence of narcotics on the driver’s side door.

Police searched the vehicle and recovered a small amount of marijuana from the driver’s side floorboard, ten vacuum-sealed bags from the trunk, and three pistols from the trunk. Police found a .40-caliber pistol, a 9mm pistol, and a .22-caliber revolver.  Rascoe told the officers the vehicle belonged to him and he knew a firearm was inside the vehicle, but unaware of the other two firearms.

Because of his 2012 felony conviction for first-degree possession of Marijuana in Dallas County, Rascoe was prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition.

This case was investigated by the SPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  It was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gina S. Vann.