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BRIDGE CITY — A Houston man and woman have been sentenced for federal firearm and drug violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.

Christopher Jay Johnson Jr., 35, pleaded guilty July 31, 2023, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to nine years in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone.

Lissette Elvira Guevara, 37, also of Houston, pleaded guilty the same day to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced by Judge Crone last month to serve more than nine years in prison.

According to information presented in court, on March 6, 2022, Bridge City Police Department officers investigated a report of a suspicious vehicle parked at a business on Texas Avenue and found Johnson in the passenger seat with a fully loaded pistol on his lap.

The strong odor of marijuana led to a search of the vehicle, resulting in the discovery of 40 grams of methamphetamine in Guevara’s belongings.

Further investigation revealed Johnson was previously convicted of aggravated robbery, felon in possession of a firearm and controlled substance offenses in Montgomery County, and prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.

A federal grand jury indicted Johnson and Guevara on April 5, 2023.

“Guns and drugs are a bad combination,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. “We will always  support our local law enforcement partners in the investigation and prosecution of cases like this one that involve guns and dangerous repeat offenders. This is also a good reminder to the citizens in our district that if you ‘see something, say something.’ Here, a concerned citizen’s call pointed law enforcement to a threat they might have otherwise missed.”

The Bridge City Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.