Christian County Man Sentenced to Over 5 Years in Federal Prison for Methamphetamine Distribution and Federal Firearm Offenses

Paducah, KY – A Christian County man was sentenced yesterday to 5 years and 6 months in federal prison followed by a 4-year term of supervised release for distributing more than 50 grams of a methamphetamine mixture and for possessing more than a dozen firearms after having previously been convicted of a felony offense. There is no parole in the federal system.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Sheriff Tyler DeArmond of the Christian County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.

According to court documents, on March 24, 2022, Buddy Chambless, 39, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, possessed with the intent to distribute over 50 grams a methamphetamine mixture. At the time of the arrest, agents located the following 13 firearms and approximately 2000 rounds of ammunition in a storage unit controlled by Chambless: a Diamondback Firearms LLC, model DB9, 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol; a Taurus, model 85, .38 special caliber revolver; a Harrington and Richardson, model 930, .22 caliber revolver; a Sun City Machinery Co., model 320, 12-gauge slide action shotgun; a Mossberg, model 500 Turkey, 12-gauge slide action shotgun; a Winchester, model 120 Ranger, 20-gauge slide action shotgun; a Mossberg, model 500E, .410-gauge slide action shotgun; a Taurus, model Circuit Judge, 45 long colt/.410-gauge rifle; a New England Firearms, model Pardner, 20-gauge single shot break action shotgun; a Henry Repeating Rifle Company, model Golden Boy, .22 caliber lever action rifle; a Savage Arms, model Mark II, .22 caliber bolt action rifle; a Mosin-Nagant, model M91/30, 7.62x54R caliber bolt action rifle; and a Mosin-Nagant, model P-26, 7.62x54R caliber bolt action rifle.

Chambless was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had been previously convicted of the following offense. On August 14, 2018, in Christian Circuit Court, he was convicted of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance – greater than 2 grams of methamphetamine while armed and first-degree possession of a controlled substance while armed.

The case was investigated by the ATF Bowling Green Field Office and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leigh Ann Dycus, of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

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