Department of Justice

DETROIT – A Detroit man was sentenced yesterday to 8 years in prison for charges relating to his possession of firearms involved in two shootings in 2021, including one where he indiscriminately fired over thirty rounds at the home occupied by his domestic partner, other adults, and two children, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.

Ison was joined in the announcement by James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF in Michigan.

Jason Foley, 39, who pleaded guilty to two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, was sentenced to 96 months imprisonment by United States District Judge Nancy Edmunds.

According to court documents, on October 24, 2021, officers from the Warren Police Department recovered two loaded firearms, a Diamondback .223 caliber rifle with a drum magazine and a Smith & Wesson 9-milimeter semiautomatic pistol, from Foley’s vehicle. A firearms examiner determined that the Diamondback rifle was used in a shooting on August 4, 2021, and the 9-milimeter handgun was used in a shooting on October 9, 2021. On August 4, 2021, Foley was involved in a shooting into a home occupied by several adults and children where officers recovered thirty-one .223 caliber casings and observed at least twenty gunshots in the target home. Officers also observed gunshots in a nearby house and two vehicles. Foley was also involved in a shooting on October 9, 2021, where officers recovered ten 9-millimeter casings that had been fired by Foley at a residence. In both shootings, the intended target was Foley’s girlfriend. Foley has a history of domestic violence involving at least three different victims, including a 2016 domestic violence conviction. Foley’s felony convictions include carrying concealed weapons, felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle.

“This defendant used firearms and a hail of bullets to terrorize a neighborhood and numerous citizens, including two small children,” U.S. Attorney Ison said. “My office and law enforcement are using a targeted approach to remove dangerous individuals from society in order to keep our community safe.”

“Removing violent offenders from our communities is ATF’s highest priority,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge James Deir “We are proud of our long-standing partnerships in the law enforcement community expanding efforts to disrupt and dismantle these violent criminals.”

The investigation of the case was conducted by Special Agent Kevin Rambus of the ATF, and officers with the Detroit Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Danielle Asher prosecuted this case for the United States.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.