A Vicksburg man was sentenced to eight years in federal prison on several firearms charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi announced.

Cadrius Baker, 24, was sentenced for making false statements to a licensed firearms dealer, putting false information on an official form, and receiving a firearm while under felony indictment, according to information from U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the FBI.

According to evidence presented at a Feb. 26, 2020, trial, Baker attempted to purchase a firearm from a Vicksburg retailer. He filled out and signed an official form used for background checks for firearms sales, marking that he was then not under indictment for a felony crime when he was actually under two separate felony indictments.  The firearm sale was denied.

A background check revealed that about three years before, in January 2017, a Warren County grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Baker and two others for conspiracy to commit a felony, aggravated assault, and armed carjacking.

Following that indictment, in July 2017, Baker was again indicted by a Warren County grand jury for vehicle burglary.

After denial of the purchase in February 2020, narcotics officers of the Vicksburg Police Department observed Baker in March 2020 conducting drug transactions in a parking lot in Vicksburg. After a brief pursuit, Baker was stopped and was found in possession of a firearm.

Baker was charged in a federal indictment, tried in U.S. District Court, and found guilty.

The FBI and the Vicksburg Police Department investigated this case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Bert Carraway.