Godson Oghenebrume has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison in the United States after being convicted of illegally possessing a firearm while in the country on a non-immigrant student visa.
The sentence was announced in a statement issued on June 30, 2026, by the U.S. Department of Justice through United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall.
The 23-year-old former Louisiana State University track athlete, who resided in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by an alien admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant F-1 student visa.
In addition to his prison term, Oghenebrume is expected to face removal proceedings and could be deported from the United States after completing his sentence.
According to court records, Oghenebrume admitted that on February 7, 2025, he possessed a Glock Model 43X 9mm pistol while residing in the United States on an F-1 student visa.
Prosecutors said the incident occurred at his apartment in Baton Rouge after his former girlfriend, who is also the mother of his infant child, arrived at the residence with the baby. Oghenebrume was reportedly inside the apartment with another woman when an argument broke out between him and his former partner outside the residence.
During the altercation, authorities said Oghenebrume fired the handgun while the child was present. The dispute later continued inside and outside the apartment, where he allegedly discharged the firearm several more times as the woman fled the scene. Investigators found multiple bullet impacts in the walls of the apartment complex.
Court documents further stated that Oghenebrume smashed his former girlfriend’s mobile phone and took custody of the child before another woman at the scene intervened and safely retrieved the baby.
When deputies from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office arrived, prosecutors said Oghenebrume ignored commands from law enforcement officers, walked away, and threw the Glock pistol into nearby shrubs before he was apprehended.
Investigators said a neighbour reported hearing gunshots and complained that the noise left his ears ringing.
During a post-Miranda interview with detectives, Oghenebrume reportedly admitted firing the weapon, claiming he intended to frighten his former girlfriend into leaving the apartment.
U.S. Attorney Kurt L. Wall commended the efforts of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security–Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office for their roles in the investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeremy S. Johnson and Lyman E. Thornton III.
The Department of Justice said the prosecution formed part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling transnational criminal organisations, and addressing violent crime across the United States.