Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On September 9, 2021, Robert Harrison Blevins, 54, of Jonesborough, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville, to 152 months imprisonment, followed by a four-year term of supervised release.

In August 2019, a Grand Jury issued a multi-count indictment for Blevins alleging that he possessed methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it, and that he possessed a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking offense. Blevins entered a guilty plea to possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and to possession of the firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking offense.

As stated in the plea agreement filed with the court, on April 3, 2019, patrons of a McDonald’s on Market Street in Johnson City noticed a man who appeared unresponsive, sitting in the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle. Johnson City emergency medical services (EMS) and Johnson City Police Department officers responded to the location. EMS personnel were able to wake Blevins and determine that he was not in need of medical services. Police saw a handgun beneath the driver’s seat and determined that Blevins was on probation. When police asked about the firearm, Blevins attempted to flee, but fell and was taken into custody. A search of Blevins’ car located two loaded firearms, 7 grams of methamphetamine in individual baggies, scales, and other drug paraphernalia.

The case was investigated by the Johnson City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”).

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to targeting those individuals who use firearms to protect their drug trafficking and to working with our state and federal partners to reduce the threat of violence in our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney, Francis M. Hamilton III.

ATF Special Agent in Charge, Mickey French remarked, “ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence partnerships with our public safety partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office focuses on the devastating impact of firearms violence and works with the entire community to reduce the potential for violent crime.”

Assistant United States Attorney B. Todd Martin represented the United States.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.