DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Middle District of Tennessee

For Immediate Release

Thursday, October 31, 2019
Donald Q. Cochran
, United States Attorney
Contact: David Boling

Nashville Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Firearms Violations

Designated as Armed Career Criminal

NASHVILLE, Tenn. October 31, 2019 – Kevin Mark Paul, 36, of Nashville, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 15 years in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

Paul was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2018 after he was arrested by Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers on October 4, 2018.  On this date, MNPD officers received information that Paul was wanted on outstanding warrants, then in a residence on Charlotte Pike and was also in possession of weapons.  Officers went to the house and attempted to persuade Paul to surrender but were unsuccessful.  Officers entered the house and located Paul in a back bedroom, laying on the floor between a bed and the wall.  Paul refused the officer’s commands to show his hands and reached under the bed in an attempt to retrieve a 12-gauge shotgun before being subdued and arrested by the officers.

Evidence and testimony introduced during subsequent court proceedings showed that Paul is affiliated with the Aryan Nation and has a lengthy criminal record and prior felony convictions, including aggravated assault and aggravated burglaries.  Paul pleaded guilty in May to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

At sentencing, U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell, Jr., found that Paul’s criminal history qualified him as an Armed Career Criminal and subject to sentence enhancement.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rob McGuire and Brooke Schiferle prosecuted the case.

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Nashville Field Division