United States v. Shelton
Not Guilty Verdict on Felony Charges
Case number: 1:95 CR 00008-TBR Type of case: Narcotics and firearms Jurisdiction: United States District Court Western District of Kentucky, Bowling Green Date of trial: August 1995 Judge: Chief Judge Thomas B. Russell
Mr. Shelton was indicted while in possession of nine ounces of methamphetamine. He also had a loaded assault rifle in his truck when he as apprehended. We were able to argue successfully that, despite the fact that Mr. Shelton possessed nine ounces of methamphetamine, that he did so only for his personal use and lacked the intent to distribute the narcotics. The jury found Mr. Shelton guilty only of simple possession of the drugs, pursuant to 21 U. S. C. ' 844, which is a misdemeanor offense. Mr. Shelton was acquitted on the gun charge and he received a final sentence of six months in jail despite initially facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.
