Memorandum details life in Willie Joe Dawson’s car, experience of violence

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A man about to be sentenced on gun charges in federal court only had a gun because he was once shot himself.

Writing on behalf of their client Willie Joe Dawson, 34, of Warren, federal defense attorneys Edward G. He said he lived outside the car. to feed his family.

Dawson is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday by U.S. Judge Sarah Rioy after pleading guilty on March 18. Firearms felony chargeHe has been in federal custody since a criminal complaint was filed against him in the case last October.

The complaint stems from an arrest by Warren Police on September 17, 2021. Police reportedly found a loaded .357 Magnum revolver inside the car he was driving after stopping him for a traffic violation.

Dawson was convicted of felony, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence in Trumbull County Court of Appeals in 2006 and is therefore not allowed to carry a gun.

Dawson’s attorney wrote in the memorandum that the client saw someone shot when he was 11, and a friend died of leukemia when Dawson was 13.

Shortly thereafter, his family became homeless and began living in their car. At age 15, he started selling drugs because he thought he needed to do something to help his family, his memorandum states.

In May 2021, Dawson was shot in the leg and began to feel unsafe, so he began carrying a gun, the memorandum said.

“Mr. Dawson only owns a firearm as he is a recent victim of gun violence,” the memorandum states.

The memorandum also notes that Dawson has only been arrested three times for misdemeanors since 2008, and he took several classes while in custody awaiting sentencing to improve himself.