Indictment Alleges That Defendant Also Attempted To Obstruct Justice
Russell Brothers, Jr., 75, of Burns, Tennessee, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Nashville today, in a five-count indictment charging him with being a felon in unlawful possession of 16 firearms and two separate attempts to obstruct justice, announced Jerry E. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
According to the indictment, in April 2012, Brothers illegally possessed a number of firearms, including rifles, shotguns, and handguns. Because Brothers has prior felony convictions for drug trafficking and money laundering, this possession was unlawful. In addition, the indictment alleges that Brothers obstructed justice in two ways: (1) Brothers provided another individual with a false version of events related to his illegal conduct in order to influence the testimony of that person in the pending federal criminal investigation and (2) Brothers attempted to conceal one of the guns with the intent to impair its availability for use in the federal criminal investigation.
If convicted for the unlawful possession of firearms, Brothers faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. If convicted of obstructing justice, Brothers faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Alex Little is representing the government.
An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
