Department of Justice

NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that STERLING ROBINSON, also known as “Scooter,” age 31, a resident in the New Orleans area, was convicted on December 7, 2021 by a jury in the Eastern District of Louisiana of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) and obstruction of justice in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512(c)(2).

Testimony and evidence introduced at trial proved that ROBINSON possessed a firearm and ammunition when he fired five (5) shots into a car being driven by his girlfriend with her nine-year-old son as a passenger. The shooting occurred on March 13, 2020 in the 7700 block of Downman Road in New Orleans. ROBINSON then obstructed justice by attempting to dishonestly influence his girlfriend into testifying that someone else shot at her and her son. According to court records, ROBINSON was previously convicted of a federal felony charge for being in possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. When the current offense happened, ROBINSON was still on supervised release with U.S. Probation after having served a five-year sentence for that previous conviction.

ROBINSON is facing up to ten years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. For obstruction of justice, he faces up to twenty years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

The Honorable U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon presided over the case and no sentencing date has been set at this time.

This case is being 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.

U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Jefferson Parish Sherriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr. and Charles D. Strauss prosecuted to the case.