Jury finds Kountze man guilty of federal firearms violations

Press Release from U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District 

JURY FINDS KOUNTZE MAN GUILTY OF FEDERAL FIREARMS CHARGES

        BEAUMONT, TX -  U.S. Attorney John M. Bales announced today that a 29-year-old Kountze man has been found guilty by a jury of federal firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

        JAMES TYSON, JR., was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm following a two-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Ron Clark.

According to information presented in court, Tyson was arrested on July 16, 2008, after local law enforcement responded to a disturbance call in Kountze where Tyson was observed trying to discard a case of beer and a gun.  Tyson fled the scene on foot and was apprehended.  Further investigation revealed Tyson was a convicted felon and thereby prohibited from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.  Tyson has four felony convictions from 2008 in Hardin County: two for possession of a controlled substance, one for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and one for assault, family violence.  He was also convicted in 1998 in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas for theft of firearms from a licensed dealer.   Tyson was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 18, 2009, and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

        Tyson faces up to 10 years in federal prison at sentencing.  A sentencing date has not been set.

        The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Kountze Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David H. Henderson and James E. Peacock.