Peyton McCray Roberts, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, TN 2020

Peyton McCray Roberts, 21, of Selmer, Tennessee, is headed to federal prison for five years after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm—a charge that hits hard in a region already wrestling with gun violence and repeat offenders.

The sentence, handed down August 7, 2020, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge S. Thomas Anderson, lands like a hammer: 60 months behind bars followed by three years of supervised release. No parole. No shortcuts. Just cold, hard time for a man who, despite prior felony convictions, still had access to a loaded weapon.

The incident that lit the fuse occurred on August 12, 2019, when Selmer Police responded to a shooting call at a local apartment complex. Roberts admitted to being drunk and discharging a .410 gauge H & R Model Topper Jr. shotgun into the floor of his unit after a heated argument with friends. He claimed he was trying to unload it when it went off—trying to scare them out. Instead, he blew a hole in his floor and his freedom.

After giving consent, Roberts led officers straight to the gun—stashed under his mattress. They recovered the weapon with a fired shell still inside. No one was injured, but the damage was done. Roberts had already served time for two prior felonies: Introduction of Contraband into a Penal Institution and Possession of a Schedule III Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver—convictions from December 3, 2018, in McNairy County that legally barred him from owning any firearm or ammunition.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant didn’t mince words: ‘Prohibited persons in possession of firearms present a known and immediate risk of violence to the community at large.’ He called the case a textbook example of why federal law must be enforced without leniency—’This sentence does just that, and will make McNairy County and West Tennessee a safer place.’

The investigation was a joint effort between the Selmer Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Morrow prosecuted the case, ensuring Roberts wouldn’t slip through the cracks. For now, the gun is off the street—and so is the man who fired it.