Kingsport Man Found To Be A Career Criminal And Sentenced To 264 Months Imprisonment For Possession Of A Firearm

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On November 17, 2022, Phillip Thomas Green, 36, of Kingsport, Tennessee, was sentenced to 264 months in prison by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.

On June 22, 2022, following a 2-day jury trial, a federal jury found Green guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).  During the sentencing proceeding, Judge Corker found Green to be an Armed Career Criminal based on his lengthy, criminal history, which subjected Green to a mandatory minimum of 180 months’ imprisonment. After his incarceration, Green will be on supervised release for a period of five years.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Green has ten prior felony convictions, including five felony drug convictions.  The evidence further showed that on August 16, 2019, officers with the Kingsport Police Department responded to a disturbance on Park Street in Kingsport.  They learned that Green had vandalized a vehicle and then left the scene. The officer also learned that Green had an outstanding arrest warrant.  A short time later, the officer responded to a report of a suspicious male on Highland Street, which is near Park Street.  The description of the male matched the one given of Green, and the officer responded back to the Park Street location.  Green was found in the driveway of the Park Street residence.  When confronted by the officer, Green fled the scene on foot.  He was apprehended in the backyard of a nearby residence.  After being taken into custody, Green was found to have a loaded Taurus, .380 caliber handgun.

“This investigation and prosecution was a part of the Department of Justice’s comprehensive strategy to combat and reduce violence in our local communities by targeting dangerous individuals who unlawfully possess firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III.  “We will continue to work with our local and federal partners to remove firearms from prohibited individuals.”

“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 (“ATF”) Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.  “The ATF, along with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate, apprehend, and charge the individuals who knowingly and willingly continue to break the law.”

This case was the result of an investigation by the Kingsport Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Assistant U.S. Attorney B. Todd Martin 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.

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