Deunta Finch aka LT, 27, of Nashville, Tennessee, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; attempting to commit a robbery affecting interstate commerce; and to possessing and discharging a firearm in that attempted robbery, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
According to the statement of facts, Finch was a ranking member of the Athens Park Bloods street gang and had multiple, previous state felony convictions, including two convictions for being a felon in possession of firearms, a conviction for robbery and a conviction for reckless endangerment with a weapon. As a convicted felon, Finch was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The statement of facts outlines that on June 21, 2015, Finch brandished a firearm and stole another firearm from a juvenile, while in the J.C. Napier public housing development. Two days later, Finch was riding in a car with another juvenile and became involved in a shootout with the occupants of another vehicle. Finch was injured in the shootout, but left the scene and was later located and transported to a local hospital for treatment. After treatment, he was arrested on outstanding state warrants and then bonded out of custody. Finch failed to appear in court as required and was arrested by Metro Nashville SWAT officers in another car on November 12, 2015. A 9mm pistol was recovered from the glove compartment of that car during this arrest. Ballistics evidence revealed that the recovered firearm had been used one week earlier, on November 5, 2015, in a drug related shooting, in which Finch robbed a drug dealer in the Lexington Garden Apartments in Madison, Tennessee. His intended victim resisted, and Finch shot and severely wounded the victim. Finch then left the area with a quantity of cocaine which he took from his victim.
The plea agreement calls for Finch to be sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Finch will be sentenced on May 15, 2017.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, Gang Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sunny A.M. Koshy.