Convicted Felon Sentenced for Federal Firearms Violation

TYLER – A 39-year-old Longview man has been sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. John Blake London was indicted on Sep. 17, 2014, and pleaded guilty on Dec. 2, 2014. He was handed his sentence Tuesday in Tyler by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis.

According to federal prosecutors, on July 9, 2014, London was driving a car in Longview when he was detained by a police officer because he had parked in a roadway and was impeding traffic. During the course of the detention, the officer discovered that London had an active warrant, so the officer placed him under arrest. The officer then reportedly learned that the only passenger in the car had no valid driver’s license, so the officer called for a tow truck and performed an inventory of the car. During the course of the inventory, the officer discovered a sawed-off shotgun. The officer checked London’s criminal history and found that he had been previously convicted of forgery in Gregg County in 2012 and possession of cocaine in Tarrant County in 2008.