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Project Safe Neighborhoods sends Convicted Felon to Federal Prison For Possessing a Stolen Firearm
TYLER, Texas - A 29-year-old Dike, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Kerry Lynn Sanders pleaded guilty on December 4, 2013, to possessing a stolen firearm and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis.
According to information presented in court, on March 19, 2013, Sanders was stopped by Wood County Sheriff’s Deputies due to an outstanding arrest warrant. The deputies arrested Sanders and performed an inventory of Sanders’ vehicle. During the inventory, the deputies discovered a 20gauge, pump-action shotgun behind the driver’s seat. Sanders admitted that he knowingly possessed the shotgun without the consent of the owner, and with the intent to deprive the owner of the shotgun.
Sanders was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 25, 2013, for possessing the shotgun after having been previously convicted of multiple felony crimes including Theft, Attempted Evading Arrest with a Vehicle, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Aggravated Robbery. Federal law prohibits the possession of stolen firearms and further prohibits convicted felons from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition.
This conviction is yet another important outcome from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national priority of the United States Department of Justice. PSN is designed as a partnership between federal and local law enforcement to reduce violent crime and gun-related crime through the vigorous enforcement of the criminal provisions of the federal firearms laws.
This case was investigated by ATF and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble. #
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
