Lexington Man Convicted of Firearms Offenses

LEXINGTON, Ky.- A Lexington, Ky., man was convicted on Wednesday, August 27, by a federal jury in Lexington for several firearms offenses. 

After 40 minutes of deliberation following a three-day trial, the jury convicted 41-year-old Keith Lamont Stallworth of carrying and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime; possessing a machine gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; possessing a firearm as a convicted felon; possessing a machine gun; and failing to register the machine gun. 

According to testimony at trial, in August 2023, Stallworth was arrested in possession of a .57 caliber Palmetto Arms pistol that contained high velocity rifle rounds and an extended magazine capable of holding an additional 29 rounds. A search warrant at Stallworth’s downtown Lexington apartment yielded a large quantity of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, hundreds of rounds of ammunition as well as a 9mm handgun and an illegally modified .40 caliber pistol.  The pistol was installed with a machinegun conversion device, sometimes called a “switch” or “Glock switch,”  that converted the firearm to a fully automatic weapon defined under federal law as a machinegun.

Stallworth previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl; possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine; and using a residence for the purpose of manufacturing and distributing controlled substances.     

Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Jim Scott, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Louisville Field Division; John Nokes, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, Louisville Field; Phillip J. Burnett, Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police; Chief Lawrence Weathers, Lexington Police Department; Chief Michael Fleming, Nicholasville Police Department; and Sheriff Kevin Grimes, Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office, jointly announced the conviction.

The investigation was conducted by DEA, ATF, KSP, Lexington Police Department, Nicholasville Police Department, and Jessamine County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger West is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Stallworth is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a mandatory minimum sentence of 40 years. However, the Court must consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the applicable federal sentencing statutes before imposing a sentence.

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