Career Offender Receives Significant Sentence for Firearm Possession and Distribution of Marijuana

Memphis, TN - A Memphis man has been sentenced to 180 months of imprisonment for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in Memphis, Tennessee. Joseph C. Murphy, Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, in June 2022, detectives with the Western District of Tennessee Multi-Agency Gang Unit (MGU), assisted by special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), began investigating Robert Ingram, 39, who was selling marijuana out of an apartment in the 6500 block of S. Country Oaks Circle in Memphis, Tennessee. Based on information linking Ingram and his apartment to the storage and distribution of large amounts of marijuana, MGU and ATF executed a search warrant on the apartment on June 28, 2022.

Ingram was detained by detectives without incident when they entered the apartment. Once inside, detectives discovered more than 10 kilograms of raw marijuana bundled in various increments and two loaded pistols: a Glock 9mm and a stolen Smith & Wesson 9mm.

Ingram was indicted in February 2023 on possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm charges. On January 15, 2025, Ingram entered a guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

At the time of sentencing, Ingram was determined to be a career offender under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. On August 5, 2025, United States District Court Judge Jon Phipps McCalla sentenced Ingram to 180 months of incarceration with a three-year period of supervised release to follow.

There is no parole in the federal system.

"This individual persistently violates the law by illegally possessing firearms and distributing narcotics," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Matthew Belew, ATF Nashville Field Division. "The ATF will continue to work collaboratively with our local, state, and federal partners to combat violent crime and hold these criminals accountable."

This case was investigated by the Western District of Tennessee Multi-Agency Gang Unit and the Memphis Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The Drug Enforcement Administration's Nashville laboratory assisted in this investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Bryce H. Phillips and William Crow prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

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