A Portsmouth resident, Joshaua Sheimel Anderson, 25, received a sentence of four years and five months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentencing took place today in Norfolk.
Court records show that on February 16, 2024, officers from the Norfolk and Portsmouth Police Departments stopped Anderson during a traffic stop. He was arrested on outstanding warrants. During a search of his backpack, police found a handgun with a machine gun conversion device and an extended magazine capable of holding 31 rounds. Authorities also seized more than one and a half pounds of suspected marijuana, several jars believed to contain THC wax, and over $2,200 in cash.
Anderson had prior convictions for grand larceny, felony eluding law enforcement, hit and run, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Federal law prohibits him from possessing firearms or ammunition due to these previous felony convictions.
The case was announced by Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Jason S. Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; and Stephen Jenkins, Chief of Portsmouth Police Department following sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.
“Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc W. West, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office,” prosecuted the case.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” according to officials involved in the announcement. “Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
Additional information about this case can be found through the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia website or by searching Case No. 2:25-cr-40 on PACER or through the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
