Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich has sentenced Ernest L. Chambliss (45, Englewood) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. A federal jury found him guilty on December 2, 2016.

According to testimony at trial, Chambliss, a drug dealer in Englewood, sold a firearm and prescription opiates to a confidential informant in April 2015. At the time, Chambliss had numerous prior felony convictions, including five drug-trafficking offenses and two charges of battery on a law enforcement officer.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory T. Nolan and Christopher Murray.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, along with Daryl R. McCrary, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.

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