A Tennessee man who pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison in a plea deal that saved him from a potential 30-year minimum prison term had he elected to go to trial.
Damarius Moore, 23, of Cordova, Tenn., was arrested Feb. 2, 2022, by Saline County deputies and Arkansas State Police after he was clocked traveling 95 mph on Interstate 30 in Saline County. According to Saline County authorities, Moore fled from a traffic stop on I-30 in Bryant, then crashed his car and fled on foot after a state trooper forced his car off the road.
A search of his vehicle turned up approximately 10.5 pounds of marijuana, a fully automatic Glock handgun and an AR-15-style rifle. After police identified the man as Moore, records said, officials discovered that Moore was wanted for questioning on a count of second-degree murder in Shelby County, Tenn.
Moore's sentencing was postponed from last month after U.S. District Judge Brian Miller raised questions about Moore's plea agreement, in which Moore agreed to a sentence substantially higher than the sentencing range of 37 to 46 months recommended by U.S. sentencing guidelines for possession of a machine gun and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Had Miller rejected the plea deal, the terms of the agreement specified that Moore could have either withdrawn his plea or that the government could have withdrawn the agreement. However, if the government withdrew the agreement, then officials could have prosecuted Miller on a charge of possession of a machine gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory minimum 30-year sentence upon conviction.