Memphis Man Pleads Guilty to Assault Federal Law Enforcement Officers in Nashville

Zero-Tolerance for Violence Directed at Law Enforcement Officers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – August 30, 2017 – Anthony Allen,  of Memphis, Tenn., pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court, to assaulting a federal law enforcement officer and to federal firearms violations, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith of the Middle District of Tennessee.

“This defendant is facing more than a decade in federal prison - a sentence that reflects the seriousness of his actions’” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to take a zero tolerance approach to violence directed at our law enforcement officers.  Serious consequences await those who choose to make the unwise decision to assault a law enforcement officer.”

According to court documents, on July 31, 2015, agents with the FBI and officers with the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department executed a federal search warrant at a house on Lanewood Court in Nashville.  This search warrant was obtained in furtherance of an investigation into drug trafficking and firearms violations.

When agents knocked on the front door and announced their presence, Allen opened the front door, pointed a semiautomatic pistol through the doorway and discharged the firearm in the direction of agents, before closing the door.  Minutes later, Allen complied with commands of law enforcement officers, exited the house and was taken into custody.

On August 5, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a 4-count indictment, charging Allen with assault of a federal law enforcement officer; discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon; and possession of ammunition by a previously convicted felon.  Allen pleaded guilty today to all counts of the indictment.

Allen faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, on the discharging a firearm charge, which must be consecutive to any sentence imposed on the other charges, when he is sentenced later this year.

This case was investigated by the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms & Explosives; and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Clay Lee is prosecuting the case.