November 7, 2011

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Tony Dale Arnold, 47, of Elizabethton, Tenn., was sentenced today in U.S. District Court, at Greeneville, to serve 94 months in federal prison by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge. The sentence was the result of a guilty plea by Arnold in May 2011 to a federal indictment charging him with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

It was noted at today’s sentencing hearing that Arnold had been convicted of over 30 crimes in Carter County, Tenn. Arnold pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm which had been stolen in Carter County.

The indictment and subsequent conviction of Arnold was the result of an investigation conducted by the Carter County Sheriff’s Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert M. Reeves represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community faces.

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian praised the efforts of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department and ATF for eliminating another repeat offender from the community.