Medford Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison

MEDFORD, Ore. - On Monday, March 16, 2015, Senior U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner sentenced Joel Daniel Dixon, 49, of Medford, Oregon, to 188 months in federal prison, after he previously pled guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition. Dixon will be on supervised release for five years after he completes his prison sentence.

In February 2013, a Jackson County Probation officer, accompanied by Jackson County Sheriff’s deputies, conducted a home visit on a probationer. The probation officer had reason to believe that another fugitive was at the residence. A sheriff’s deputy went to the back of the residence and saw Dixon hiding by the back window in a narrow space between the fence and the house. The deputy ordered Dixon to put his hands up. Dixon turned away, reached into his pocket and threw something down, and then walked towards the deputy with his hands up. The deputy frisked Dixon and found a Colt .380 magazine loaded with five .380 rounds in his pocket. In the narrow space where Dixon was hiding, officers found a small baggie of methamphetamine that had been dropped on the ground, a gallon ziplock of marijuana bud, a backpack, and a leather satchel containing 584 grams of methamphetamine packaged for sale.

Under federal law, any person who possesses a firearm or ammunition after being previously convicted of three violent felonies or felony drug trafficking crimes is an Armed Career Criminal and faces a 15 year mandatory minimum prison sentence. Dixon’s criminal history includes over 62 arrests, with 14 felony convictions, including felony attempt to elude police, manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance, supplying contraband, theft in the first degree, and felon in possession of a firearm. Dixon also has 22 misdemeanor convictions, including six assault in the fourth degree convictions, resisting arrest, attempt to elude police, false information to police, and felon in possession of a restricted weapon.

This case was investigated jointly by Jackson County Parole and Probation Services, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas W. Fong.