Federal Grand Jury Indicts Ohio County Felon for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Bowling Green, KY – A federal grand jury in Bowling Green returned an indictment on March 13, 2024, charging an Ohio County man with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division made the announcement.

According to the indictment, on December 12, 2023, Christopher Phillip Saunders, 29, possessed a Taurus .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol, a Hermann Weihrauch .32-caliber revolver, a Companhia Braziliera de Cartuchos (CBC) .410-gauge single-shot break-action shotgun, and ammunition. Saunders was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses.

On August 30, 2023, in Clark Circuit Court, Saunders was convicted of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and theft.

On July 6, 2022, in Jefferson Circuit Court, Saunders was convicted of wanton endangerment first-degree (2 counts) and criminal mischief first-degree.

Saunders was arraigned yesterday before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The Court ordered the defendant detained pending trial. If convicted, Saunders faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

There is no parole in the federal system.  

The case is being investigated by the ATF Bowling Green Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Nicholas Rabold, of the U.S. Attorney’s Bowling Green Branch Office, is prosecuting 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.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

###