TENNESSEE — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a Tennessee man to 18 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm under the Armed Career Criminal Act, according to officials.
“Convicted felons who possess firearms are an inherent danger to community, and in this case, the defendant was an armed career criminal who continued to possess a firearm despite his prior felony conviction history,” U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee. “There is and ought to be a significant consequence for such recidivist criminal behavior, and this is one more armed career criminal removed from our streets for a long time.”
According to court records, Memphis police stopped a car driven by Markel Strong, 29, on Jan. 19, 2022, for an illegal window tint and found a firearm in plain view near the center console.
Strong was barred from possessing a gun because of multiple prior violent felony convictions.
A federal jury on Aug. 19 found Strong guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and determined that his three previous violent felony convictions occurred on separate dates — a finding that triggered enhanced sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented evidence of Strong’s violent conduct while in custody and additional crimes linked to the recovered firearm.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Memphis Police Department.