An Orange man has been sentenced to federal prison for a firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.
Michael Lawrence Geral, Jr., 35, pleaded guilty on Oct. 4, 2022, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison Thursday by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.
According to information presented in court, on Dec. 13, 2021, Geral was stopped for a traffic violation by officers with the Orange Police Department. As officers spoke with Geral, they smelled the odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle. Officers searched the vehicle and found a firearm which Geral admitted was his. Geral is a previously convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Orange Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell James.
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