Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Firearms Possession

FORT SMITH – A Fort Smith man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release on one count of Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The Honorable Judge P.K Holmes, III, presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Fort Smith.

According to court documents, On September 15, 2020, an Arkansas state arrest warrant was issued out of Sebastian County for Christopher Lee Stowell, 37.  On September 17, 2020, the United States Marshals Service was delegated as primary apprehension authority. On September 22, 2020, Stowell was arrested and taken into custody by investigators. During the arrest investigators located a loaded handgun lying next to him.  

Acting U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas made the announcement.

The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office and The Unites States Marshals Service investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Harris prosecuted the case.

Stowell was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act, which provides a sentencing range of fifteen years to life for individuals who have been convicted of federal gun crimes and have at least three prior felony convictions for crimes of violence and/or serious drug offenses.

This case was prosecuted as 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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.