Albert Franklin, Jr., a/k/a Frank Nitty, 51, of Nashville, Tennessee was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Nashville yesterday, of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute Oxycodone; using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced David Rivera, Acting U. S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee; Jeffrey Fulton, Special Agent-in-Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and Steve Anderson, Chief, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department..
“We are pleased with the jury’s verdict and will seek a sentence that will insure the defendant and his violent acts are removed from this community for a long period of time," said Acting U.S. Attorney David Rivera. “This verdict exemplifies the continued efforts of federal and local law enforcement officers to vigorously investigate and prosecute individuals who commit gun and drug crimes in our community."
According to testimony at trial, in January 2010 the Metro Nashville Police Department was conducting a reverse sting operation using a confidential informant. A meeting was set up between the informant and Albert Franklin, a convicted felon and owner of Mustang Sally’s Bar on Dickerson Pike, for the purpose of consummating a drug deal. Co-defendant, Anthony Griffin was also present. Franklin was supposed to purchase 3,000 Oxycontin pills from the informant. When the informant produced the pills, which were actually placebos, Franklin produced a loaded revolver, put it to the informant’s head, and robbed him of the pills, which he believed to be Oxycontin.
Franklin then forced the informant from the bar at gunpoint and a stand-off ensued shortly thereafter with the Metro Nashville Police Department. After approximately one hour, Franklin surrendered to police. The firearm used in the robbery was recovered from inside an interior wall of the bar.
“ATF remains committed to vigorously investigating violent crime and making our communities safer," said Jeff Fulton, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF.
“Albert Franklin posed a significant danger to the East Nashville community and decided to continue breaking the law despite prior serious convictions," Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson said. “I am grateful to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal law enforcement partners for helping ensure that those who repeatedly challenge the safety of our neighborhoods are held fully accountable."
Franklin will be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes, Jr., on December 6, 2013. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Co-defendant Anthony Griffin is awaiting trial and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Philip H. Wehby and Lynne T. Ingram.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
