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Defendant’s Actions Lead to 7-Year-Old’s Death
Anthony Patrick Sanders, aka ‘Ant,’ aka ‘Lil A,’ 28, of Nashville, Tennessee, has been sentenced to the statutory maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of two firearms. One of those firearms was used to kill a 7-year-old girl in the Napier Homes public housing development.
On June 6, 2017, a juvenile in an apartment picked up a loaded pistol left by Sanders and discharged the weapon, striking Harmony Warfield in the head and killing her. Sanders then re-entered the apartment and found the child laying on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the head. He retrieved the firearm and fled the area.
Sanders was charged in a criminal complaint on June 14, 2017, after the accidental shooting death of Harmony Warfield. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 12, 2017, and pleaded guilty on November 7, 2017.
According to court documents, in June 2016 Sanders was released from prison after being convicted of kidnapping in 2008. He began frequenting the J.C. Napier Housing Development in Nashville and regularly selling heroin in the area. Sanders was known to regularly carry a firearm when he was selling heroin in the area.
Sanders eventually fled to a community near Columbus, Ohio where he hid the firearm, which was later recovered by ATF agents. Sanders later made threatening statements directed at the person he believed helped recover the firearm.
U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger remarked that this was a very serious case of a felon possessing a firearm because of the resulting tragedy and the defendant’s actions that followed. Judge Trauger also remarked that the upward variance from the advisory sentencing guidelines of 87-108 months was appropriate in this case.
This case was investigated by the ATF and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department-Youth Services Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunny A.M. Koshy prosecuted the case.
Sanders’ actions have left a community in mourning, and his sentence serves as a reminder of the consequences of breaking the law. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and provide updates as more information becomes available.
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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