GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Kingsport man has been sentenced to 264 months in prison after he was found to be an Armed Career Criminal after a jury trial.
According to the release from the Department of Justice, Phillip Thomas Green, 36, of Kingsport, was found guilty of being in possession of a firearm in violation of United States Code 18 § 922(g)(1) after a two-day jury trial.
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is listed on the United States Code website as: “It shall be unlawful for any person, who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.”
Green had ten prior felony convictions, including five drug convictions, according to court documents. Evidence presented during the trial showed that officers with the Kingsport Police Department (KPD) responded to a disturbance in the Park Street area on August 16, 2019 and learned Green had vandalized a vehicle, reportedly left the scene and had an outstanding warrant.
The KPD officer then responded to the report of a suspicious male matching Green’s description on Highland Street near Park Street. Green was then found in the driveway of the Park Street residence and, when confronted by the officer, he reportedly fled on foot and was arrested in the backyard of a residence nearby.
Following his arrest by the KPD, Green was found to have a loaded Taurus .380 caliber handgun.
During sentencing, Judge Clifton L. Corker found Green to be an Armed Career Criminal based on the length of his previous criminal history, which subjected him to a mandatory minimum of 180 months in prison, the release states.
After his incarceration, Green will reportedly be on supervised release for five years.
“Armed Career Criminals are one of the greatest threats to our communities. These
individuals show total disregard of the law by repeatedly committing many of the same offenses,
which in many incidents, include violent crime,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.
