NEW IBERIA, La. — An Iberia Parish jury has found 22-year-old Jatavist Reedom of New Iberia guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The unanimous verdict was returned Tuesday following a trial in the 16th Judicial District Court.
According to prosecutors, New Iberia Police officers were serving a warrant at Reedom’s hotel room when they witnessed him throw a handgun onto the bed before attempting to flee. Officers took him into custody, and investigators said Reedom later admitted the firearm belonged to him.
Authorities said Reedom was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a 2022 simple robbery conviction in Orleans Parish and because he had absconded from parole supervision.
Reedom is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4, 2026. He faces a mandatory prison sentence of five to 20 years at hard labor without the benefit of probation, parole, or suspension of sentence.
The case was prosecuted by the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office following an investigation by the New Iberia Police Department with assistance from the M. Bofill Duhé Acadiana Criminalistics Laboratory.
