MEMPHIS, TN – Christopher Tomlinson, 32, is headed back to prison after a federal judge handed down a 63-month sentence for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the sentence Friday, marking another win for law enforcement battling repeat offenders.
The bust went down on March 16, 2018, when Memphis Police spotted a beat-up red Honda Accord parked illegally on Rayburn Street. Things quickly escalated. As officers approached, Tomlinson bolted, ditching the vehicle and taking off on foot, a black and green handgun clutched in his right hand. Ignoring repeated commands to stop, he led officers on a brief chase before being cornered behind a house on Patton Street. Even during the arrest, Tomlinson attempted to break free and flee again.
The gun wasn’t immediately recovered. An anonymous tip led officers to an abandoned house on Patton Street, where they found the Springfield Armory 9mm pistol tossed through a window, caked in mud. The weapon was loaded with one live round. A search of the Honda also turned up 0.8 grams of marijuana and two scales, suggesting more than just a simple possession charge. But it was the firearm – and Tomlinson’s history – that sealed his fate.
Tomlinson’s rap sheet already included convictions for aggravated robbery and previous charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm – making him legally prohibited from owning any weapons. Adding insult to injury, he was already on supervised release at the time of the offense. Clearly, a previous stint behind bars hadn’t been enough to deter him. He pled guilty on March 2, 2020, just before his jury trial was set to begin.
U.S. District Court Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr., wasn’t impressed with Tomlinson’s history. The 63-month sentence, followed by two years of supervised release, sends a clear message: carrying a firearm while a convicted felon won’t be tolerated. “Convicted felons who possess firearms are an inherent danger to community,” Dunavant stated. “This defendant continued to possess a firearm despite his prior violent felony conviction history and supervised release status. This gun-toter has clearly not learned his lesson, and will now be rightly punished and removed from our streets for 5 years.”
The investigation was a collaborative effort between the Memphis Police Department and the Project Safe Neighborhoods Task Force, a program designed to reduce violent crime through partnerships between law enforcement and local communities. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wendy K. Cornejo and Joseph Griffith secured the conviction. Tomlinson won’t be eligible for parole in the federal system, meaning he’ll serve the full five years and then some before being released – if he ever truly changes his ways.
Related Federal Cases
- Humboldt Felon Glenn Gets 46 Months for Gun Possession · Tennessee
- Towles Gets 5 Years for Gun Possession, History of Violence · Tennessee
- Covington Gets 15 Years for Assaulting Officer, Gun Charge · West Virginia
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- Ronald Johnson Pleads Guilty to Stolen Gun Possession · Arkansas
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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