Horn Lake Man Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison For Federal Gun and Drug Crimes

OXFORD, Miss. - A Horn Lake man has been sentenced to serve 21 years in federal prison following his convictions for multiple gun and drug crimes. A jury convicted Dan V. Sharp, 39, formerly of Memphis, Tennessee and Horn Lake, Mississippi, of 15 counts of federal gun and drug charges following a four-day trial in Oxford in November of 2019. The charges and resulting convictions stemmed from three separate instances of criminal conduct by Sharp involving drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms committed between September of 2017 and April of 2018. Senior U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson presided over the trial and imposed the sentence of 255 months imprisonment on Friday morning.

During the trial, the jury heard evidence of the three separate criminal investigations involving Sharp. Evidence showed that on September 27, 2017, Horn Lake Police Officers responded to 911 emergency call in Horn Lake at a residence where an individual had allegedly shot herself. When the officers entered the house, they found Dan Sharp in a bedroom with his deceased wife. After the officers secured the scene, they found several controlled substances, including methamphetamine and cocaine, in the bedroom as well as multiple semi-automatic Draco-style firearms in a nearby bedroom closet.  They later searched the house and found additional firearms, including a tactical shotgun with a large magazine drum, in the truck of Sharp’s vehicle. The jury concluded that Sharp possessed the drugs found in the bedroom with the intent to distribute them. They also determined that Sharp possessed the firearms located in the closet and vehicle in furtherance of drug trafficking activities. The jury convicted Sharp of six criminal counts stemming from this incident including four convictions for drug trafficking offenses, one conviction for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

The jury also heard evidence concerning a February 24, 2018, traffic stop in which a Desoto County Deputy pulled Dan Sharp over at approximately 2:00 a.m. for reckless driving. During the stop, the deputy determined that Sharp was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The deputy questioned Sharp, who admitted that he had a firearm in his vehicle. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, investigating deputies found methamphetamine, cocaine, and three firearms, one of which was stolen. The jury determined that Sharp possessed the drugs found in the vehicle with the intent to distribute them and that he possessed the firearms in furtherance drug trafficking. The jury convicted Sharp of six criminal counts stemming from this incident, including four counts of drug trafficking, one count of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Finally, the jury heard evidence about a narcotics investigation involving Dan Sharp in April of 2018. A Desoto County Investigator received information that Sharp was in Hernando, Mississippi and that he was in possession of drugs that he intended to sell.  Based on this information, Desoto County narcotics agents located Sharp near the courthouse in Hernando, where they began conducting surveillance and ultimately followed his vehicle to a tattoo parlor. After one agent witnessed an individual exit the tattoo parlor and reach into Sharp’s vehicle to receive an item that appeared to be narcotics, Sharp was arrested and his vehicle was searched.  Agents recovered cocaine and methamphetamine from Sharp’s vehicle, and the jury convicted him of three counts of possession with intent to distribute narcotics.

U.S. Attorney Chad Lamar praised the work of officers, agents and prosecutors who assisted in this investigation. “The sentence imposed today is a direct result of effective, coordinated efforts by multiple law enforcement agencies to remove from the streets a dangerous individual who persisted in dealing in illicit drugs and using firearms that he illegally possessed in order to do so,” remarked Lamar. “This is a key example of our Project Safe Neighborhoods program at work, and our communities in North Mississippi are safer as a result.”

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Horn Lake Police Department, and the Desoto County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by AUSA Phillip Levy, and AUSA Clay Dabbs of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Mississippi.