FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 25, 2025) -- Attorney General Russell Coleman announced today action by the Attorney General’s Violent Crime Reduction Team (VRT) resulted in a prison sentence for a violent, convicted felon. The Louisville-based VRT is part of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit.
This week, Marlin Givens, 51, pled guilty to Possession of a Handgun by a Convicted Felon (Class C Felony) and will receive a five-year sentence.
Givens was indicted in Jefferson Circuit Court. According to court documents, in April 2025, Givens was found to be in possession of a .22 handgun. He had two prior felony convictions from Bay County, Florida for Aggravated Battery and Sale of a Counterfeit Controlled Substance. Sentencing has been scheduled for September 8, 2025.
“This is a victory for the safety of families who live in Louisville and for all Kentuckians,” Attorney General Coleman said. “Thanks to the incredible collaboration among LMPD and the Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, we are taking back our streets and putting violent criminals behind bars.”
Officer Travis Petty with The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) investigated the case. Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Hall prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Background
In October 2024, Attorney General Coleman joined Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Gerina D. Whethers, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey and Jefferson County Circuit Court Clerk David L. Nicholson to announce the Attorney General’s Violent Crime Reduction Team, a first-of-its-kind collaboration among their offices to combat violent crime in Louisville.
Since its creation, the VRT has secured more than 70 felony indictments and 6 convictions.
General Coleman established a new Attorney General’s Office location in downtown Louisville, now staffed by three prosecutors and a detective. The downtown office space used by the VRT was secured in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and Jefferson Circuit Court Clerk Nicholson. The team is collaborating with Commonwealth’s Attorney Whethers’ Office to be assigned and prosecute cases. Two of the prosecutors have also been sworn in as Special Assistant United States Attorneys, allowing them to bring the full force of both the state and federal governments against criminals to protect Kentucky families.
According to an agreement between the Attorney General and the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the dedicated prosecutors and investigators from the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Unit and the Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will handle select cases involving nonfatal shootings, convicted felons in possession of a firearm, Louisville’s Group Violence Intervention Program (GVI) and the Prohibited Firearms Possessor program (PFP).