A 40-year-old Hattiesburg man, Scotty James Conley, has been sentenced to 35 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, according to an official release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.
The case stems from a 2022 incident in which Forrest County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residential disturbance and discovered Conley in possession of a firearm. Given his prior 2008 felony conviction for the sexual battery of a minor under 14 years of age, federal law prohibits Conley from possessing firearms or ammunition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
Conley was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 10, 2023, and later entered a guilty plea on January 27, 2025. The sentencing was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff, following a joint investigation by the FBI and the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Allen as part of Operation Take Back America, a national initiative coordinated by the Department of Justice. The program targets violent crime, drug trafficking, and illegal firearms offenses by integrating the efforts of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). More details on the initiative can be found in the DOJ briefing here.
Source:
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Mississippi – justice.gov
- Department of Justice: Operation Take Back America – DOJ Overview PDF
