Career drug offender KENNETH LEE GARDENER sent to prison for having a gun

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte sentenced Kennth Lee Gardner,
age 26, of Germantown, Maryland today to 15 years in prison
followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in
possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney for the
District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Messitte enhanced
Gardner’s sentence upon finding that he is an armed career criminal
based on Gardner’s previous convictions for a serious drug offense
and violent felonies.

According to his plea agreement, on March 1, 2006, a Montgomery
County police officer stopped a Chevy Blazer on Crystal Rock Drive
after observing a flash of light and hearing a small pop, which came
from the vehicle. Gardner was arrested after the police officer
observed two firearms in the vehicle near where he had been sitting
– a Taurus 9mm handgun and a Beretta .22 caliber pistol – as well
as ammunition for the Taurus. The officer also seized a bag
containing approximately 41 grams of crack cocaine from Gardner at
the time of his arrest.