James Erwin, 39, of Memphis, TN, an officer with the Memphis Police Department, was indicted today by a federal grand jury for possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user of and addicted to cocaine.
According to a criminal complaint filed on August 28, 2013, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives interviewed Erwin, who admitted to using a controlled substance for four months, including August 27, 2013, when he took his work-issued Sig Sauer pistol to a friend’s house.
An individual advised Memphis Police Department
officers that he has sold cocaine base to Erwin for several years, and that on August 27, 2013, that individual took several of Erwin’s personal items as security for Erwin’s crack cocaine debt.
If convicted, Erwin faces up to ten years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and supervised release of up to three years. This case was investigated by the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which is made up of officers from the Memphis Police Department (MPD), the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Webber is representing the government.