Joseph Dale Hale Sentenced To 25 Years For Possession Of A Firearm And Escape

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On June 29, 2023, Joseph Dale Hale, 31, of Greeneville, Tennessee, was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.  During the sentencing proceeding, Judge Corker found Hale to be an Armed Career Criminal based on his prior criminal history.  Following his imprisonment, Hale will be on supervised release for five years. 

As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Hale agreed to plead guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and escape from custody while confined for a felony offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 751(a).  

According to the filed plea agreement, on July 29, 2021, an officer with the Greeneville Police Department identified Hale as the operator of a stolen vehicle.  When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, Hale fled.  Eventually, Hale stopped in the area of North Hill Street in Greeneville.  When he exited the vehicle, he fired three rounds at the officers and then fled on foot into the nearby woods.  Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers assisted in a search for Hale, who was located and apprehended later that day.  Law enforcement recovered the firearm Hale used to shoot at the police officers, which contained ammunition that matched casings found at the scene of the shooting.  Hale was indicted federally and ordered detained for the felony offense of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense. 

On October 7, 2021, while being housed in the Greene County Detention Center, Hale, assisted by another inmate, obtained a set of trustee clothes.  Hale then used a ruse to be removed from his cell to a shower area, then donned the trustee clothes.  He was then able to get access through two security doors and gained access to an unsecured area of the jail. Once outside, he fled the jail and stole a vehicle.  He was apprehended by law enforcement later that day after crashing the vehicle.       

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement. 

The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Greeneville Police Department, Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  This investigation was led by ATF Special Agent Bryan Williams.

Assistant United States Attorneys B. Todd Martin and Luke McLauren represented the United States.

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.

                                                                                                              ###