Montgomery, Alabama – On March 29, 2022, Bradley Shane Fisher, a 42-year-old Chilton County man, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Stewart. In addition to his prison sentence, Fisher was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to his plea agreement and other court records, on January 23, 2020, Chilton County deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle with two occupants. During the stop, deputies observed a Colt, Model M4 carbine rifle next to the passenger, who they identified as Bradley Fisher. They soon learned that Fisher had previously been convicted of a felony and is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms. During Fisher’s sentencing hearing, the prosecution pointed out that the rifle had been modified with what appeared to be a homemade and unregistered part designed to make it function as an automatic weapon and argued that this should be considered when determining the appropriate sentence.
Fisher was indicted by a federal grand jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm on August 17, 2021. He pleaded guilty to that charge on December 22, 2021.
This case was prosecuted pursuant to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a program in which U.S. Attorneys’ offices work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN as part of its renewed focus on targeting armed violent criminals and gang members.
The Chilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated this case, with assistance from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Assistant United States Attorneys Russell Duraski and Joel Feil prosecuted the case.