A routine traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Butts County has ended with a 35-year-old Riverdale man locked up for more than eight years after deputies found a stolen handgun hidden under his seat. U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell sentenced La'Qyale Emmanuel Fortson on Thursday to 100 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to the FOX 5 Atlanta digital team, a Butts County deputy pulled Fortson over on I-75 after watching him follow a tractor-trailer too closely. The information behind the case comes from an official press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Georgia, which detailed how the stop escalated once the deputy approached Fortson's car and detected the smell of marijuana. Fortson denied using marijuana despite the odor, prompting the deputy to call in a narcotics detection K-9, which gave positive alerts in two separate areas of the vehicle.
What the Search Turned Up
The K-9 alert gave deputies probable cause to search the car, and what they found went well beyond a small stash of weed. Deputies recovered an unloaded Glock pistol hidden under the driver's seat, a small quantity of marijuana in the center console, and an open bottle of tequila behind the passenger seat. Fortson admitted to having the marijuana, and federal investigators later confirmed the Glock had been stolen out of East Point, Georgia.
Fortson told investigators he bought the gun from a friend he described as a “weed buddy,” and he acknowledged knowing he was legally barred from possessing any firearm because of his prior felony record, which includes convictions for aggravated assault, battery and obstructing a peace officer. Federal officials have not publicly specified the exact date of the traffic stop and arrest on I-75, and authorities have not disclosed the identity of the acquaintance Fortson says sold him the stolen weapon, nor whether that person faces charges.
Guilty Plea Leads to Federal Prison Time
Fortson pleaded guilty on May 19 to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Because there is no parole in the federal prison system, he will have to serve at least 85 percent of his 100-month sentence before beginning the three years of supervised release that follow. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), as amended by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, the statutory maximum penalty for that charge stands at 15 years, up from the previous 10-year cap, according to the Federal Register.
U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes said convicted felons with violent histories caught illegally possessing firearms will continue to face federal prosecution in the Middle District of Georgia. Keyes also praised law enforcement partners for their efforts to bring repeat offenders to justice and keep communities safe. Federal court filings list Fortson as having dual residency ties to both Riverdale in Clayton County and Butts County, illustrating the kind of back-and-forth footprint between metro Atlanta and rural Middle Georgia that shows up often in cases along the I-75 corridor.
A Federal-Local Partnership Along I-75
Butts County Sheriff Gary Long praised the federal partnership that turned a local traffic stop into a felony prosecution, saying continued collaboration with federal partners supports holding violent criminals accountable. That kind of coordination isn't incidental — federal prosecutors in Middle Georgia partner with local sheriffs through Project Safe Neighborhoods task forces, which funnel federal funds toward targeting repeat violent felons caught with guns during routine traffic enforcement, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The case was prosecuted out of Macon, where the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia is headquartered. That court covers 70 counties across five divisions, and its Macon office oversees federal cases originating from counties like Butts along the I-75 corridor, per the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Federal and local law enforcement officials highlighted Fortson's sentence as part of a broader effort to target repeat violent offenders across the region.
The case echoes other recent Middle Georgia gun prosecutions, including a 15-year sentence handed down in January under the same U.S. Attorney's Office, and a separate Butts County felon gun case that made headlines this summer following a lengthy manhunt near Flovilla. For now, the identity of the person who sold Fortson the stolen Glock remains undisclosed, and it's unclear whether that individual will face charges of their own.
