Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Christopher D. Pinguely, 35, of Cold Spring, Kentucky, was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison, by United States District Judge Gregory F. VanTatenhove, for carjacking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking.

 

Earlier this year, Pinguely admitted that, in September 2017, he carjacked a semi-truck in Henry County, by pointing a rifle at the truck driver and threatening to shoot him. Shortly after the carjacking, law enforcement officers, with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office and the Kentucky State Police, located Pinguely and the semi-truck in Gallatin County. Pinguely was in possession of a MP-15 rifle.

 

Under federal law, Pinguely must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release, he will be under the supervision of the United States Probation Office for five years.

 

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge, ATF; Richard Sanders, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police; and Josh Neal, Gallatin County Sheriff, jointly made the announcement.

 

The investigation was conducted by the ATF, KSP, and Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia T. Rieker.

 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017, as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, local strategies to reduce violent crime.