BOWLING GREEN, KY – Eric R. Sturgeon, 42, of Barren County, Kentucky, is headed to federal prison for 15 years after being convicted of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and illegally owning firearms. The sentencing, handed down today, closes a case that exposed a repeat offender flouting the law and flooding the streets with deadly drugs.
According to court documents, the ATF and the Barren River Drug Task Force caught Sturgeon red-handed on November 12, 2020, with a staggering 424.4 grams of methamphetamine. He wasn’t just holding it for himself; authorities say he was preparing to push the drugs onto the streets. Adding to the charges, Sturgeon also possessed a SCCY CPX-1, nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol, and a Taurus 85 Ultralite, .38 special caliber revolver – firearms he was legally barred from owning.
This wasn’t Sturgeon’s first rodeo. Back on December 3, 2018, Barren Circuit Court convicted him of first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, second offense, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. Before that, on February 3, 2015, he was convicted of first-degree possession of a controlled substance (second offense), manufacturing methamphetamine (first offense), and again, possession of a controlled substance (second offense). Clearly, a previous conviction didn’t deter Sturgeon from re-offending.
The drug dealing didn’t stop there. On May 6, 2021, authorities found Sturgeon again with 172 grams of methamphetamine and another firearm: a Beretta APX, nine-millimeter semiautomatic pistol. Despite his prior convictions, Sturgeon continued to arm himself while peddling poison in Barren County.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, alongside ATF Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow and Ron Lafferty of the Barren River Drug Task Force, announced the sentence. The court also ordered four years of supervised release following Sturgeon’s 15-year prison term. Federal sentences don’t offer parole; Sturgeon will serve the full 15 years.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a broader initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence by bringing together law enforcement at all levels. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Yurchisin II, of the United States Attorney’s Bowling Green Branch Office, was the prosecutor on the case, working to keep dangerous criminals like Sturgeon off the streets and protect the community.
Related Federal Cases
- Christopher Mattingly, Marijuana and Meth Trafficking, KY 2015 · California
- Jessica Acosta, Meth Trafficking, KY 2018 · California
- Eric L. McReynolds, Crack Cocaine Trafficking, Ohio 2016 · Ohio
- Tyrone D. Trumbo Jr., Alleged Drug Trafficking, Kentucky, 2023 · Kentucky
- Richard Alexander Murdaugh, Drug Trafficking, Charleston SC, 2023 · Alabama
Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Weapons|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Press Release
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