Date: 02-26-2018

Case Style:

Case Number: 3:17-cr-00084-PLR-DCP

Judge: Pamela Reeves

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee (Knox County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Ray Barto Slabbekorn, Jr.

Defendant's Attorney: Laura E Davis - FPD

Description: Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Resident Sentenced to Over Three Years in Prison for Felon in Possession Conviction

Steven Eugene Johnson, a.k.a. Yahya Johnson, 36, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was sentenced to serve 37 months in federal prison by the Honorable Pamela Reeves, U.S. District Court Judge. Upon his release from prison, Johnson will be supervised by the U.S. Probation office for three years.

Johnson previously pleaded guilty to violating the Gun Control Act for being a felon in possession of a firearm and the National Firearms Act for possessing an unregistered silencer. It was illegal for Johnson to possess firearms and/or ammunition due to a 2011 felony conviction in Knox County, Tennessee.

The investigation revealed that from March through July 2017, Johnson spoke with friends about buying and selling firearms and also about acquiring and manufacturing homemade silencers for firearms. He advertised online that he was interested in buying, selling, and trading firearms, and he sought to learn how to obtain firearms without completing a background check. Federal investigators executed a search warrant at Johnson’s home in July 2017 and recovered a .22 caliber handgun, a .22 caliber rifle, over 600 rounds of ammunition, a homemade silencer, and materials believed to be intended for use in assembling a destructive device. Johnson admitted that he unlawfully possessed the firearms, ammunition, and silencer.

“To protect the safety of our citizens and neighborhoods, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute aggressively convicted felons who illegally possess or attempt to gain access to firearms,” said U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey. “We commend the federal investigators in this case for quickly and thoroughly investigating the information provided to them regarding this defendant. His conviction and prison sentence has disrupted any plan of violence that he may have intended to pursue at this time,” added U.S. Attorney Overbey.

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to serve 37 months in federal prison.

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Defendant's Experts:

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