Christopher Travis, Felony Firearm Possession, Tennessee 2015

A Memphis man has been convicted of felony firearm possession after a federal jury delivered a guilty verdict on Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the conviction of Christopher Travis, 24, of Memphis.

According to court information, Travis and an unknown accomplice robbed a man at gunpoint in the city’s Catalina Street area near Sherwood Middle School on September 10, 2014. The victim was assaulted and stripped of his clothing during the robbery.

Memphis Police Department personnel were notified of the robbery by an onlooker and arrived on the scene. Officers saw Travis with the victim’s clothes and chased after him after he fled on foot. Travis retrieved a handgun from his pocket and pointed it at the officers, prompting one of them to shoot at him. However, the defendant was not struck and managed to evade the officers by running through an opening in a fence.

Police set up a perimeter and located Travis hiding in an open crawl space under a house located on Vanuys Road. After several verbal requests from officers, Travis surrendered to law enforcement. The firearm that was pointed at the officer was located by a K-9 officer and his dog in a backyard adjacent to the house where Travis was found.

Travis faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when sentenced. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sheryl H. Lipman on Friday, March 11, 2016.

The case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, which aims to combat gun crime by encouraging federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified effort.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marques Young and Elizabeth Rogers prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/pr/federal-jury-convicts-man-officer-involved-shooting