Barling Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Firearms Violation

            Fort Smith, Arkansas – Kenneth Elser, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that Jason Lee Pyles, age 44 of Barling, Arkansas, was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release on one count of Knowingly Possessing a Firearm After a Felony Conviction. The Honorable Chief Judge P.K. Holmes, III presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

            According to court records, Jason Lee Pyles was convicted in Sebastian County Circuit Court in May 1995 of Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver, a class Y felony. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections, and because of that conviction, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

            On or about April 25, 2016, Barling Police Department assisted Arkansas Probation and Parole in a compliance check at Pyle’s residence in Barling. He was not at home but his mother showed law enforcement the bedroom that he lived in. Officers searched the bedroom and found a .380 caliber pistol, a .22 caliber revolver, and a .38 caliber revolver in an unlocked rifle box.

            Pyles was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2016 and pleaded guilty in November 2016.

            This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, which is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of firearms and improving the safety of residents in the Western District of Arkansas. Participants in the initiative include federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

            This case was investigated by Barling Police Department, Arkansas Probation and Parole and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Candace Taylor prosecuted the case for the United States.

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Related court documents may be found on the Public Access to Electronic Records website @ www.pacer.gov