January 5, 2012

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Homer Eugene Banner, 38, of Morristown, Tenn., was sentenced in U.S. District Court at Greeneville, to serve 180 months in federal prison, by the Honorable J. Ronnie Greer, U.S. District Judge. Banner pleaded guilty on May 27, 2011, to a federal grand jury indictment charging him with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

The investigation of Banner showed that during 2010 he was in possession of three firearms. Banner was previously convicted of three counts of delivery of cocaine in the Criminal Court of Hamblen County.

The indictment and subsequent guilty plea by Banner was the result of an investigation conducted by the Morristown Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Robert M. Reeves represented the United States.

U.S. Attorney Bill Killian said, “This sentence, obtained through the good work of the local and federal law enforcement agencies and AUSA Rob Reeves, is notice to convicted felons that you will be prosecuted for possession of firearms and ammunition.

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.