A nearly decade-old murder case has come to a conclusion with Sterling Breynard Bell receiving a 25-year sentence on federal firearms charges related to the killing of a young woman in Bibb County, Georgia. Bell, connected to the 2016 murder of Kendra Roberts, whose body was found along a highway near Macon, was sentenced on October 1, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Key evidence that led to Bell's conviction was obtained through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which linked a firearm seized from Bell to shell casings found at Roberts's murder scene. “The diligence of a federal special agent solved a murder and prevented the conviction of an innocent man,” stated U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg, highlighting the critical role of ballistics technology in the investigation. At the time of the murder, Roberts's boyfriend had been wrongfully charged and even remained in custody for several months before the focus shifted to Bell, according to the same press release.
In 2018, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used NIBIN to establish a connection between the seized Glock 9mm pistol and the murder. This pivotal turning point in the investigation ultimately exonerated Roberts’s boyfriend. According to details from the U.S. Attorney’s announcement, Bell had lied about his drug use to purchase the weapon just weeks before Roberts's death.
Aside from the firearms charges, Bell, now 35, was also arrested on federal firearms charges in 2018, for which he was first taken into custody. He pleaded guilty on July 3, to one count of false statements to a federal firearms licensee and two counts of illegal possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance. After his federal prison term, Bell is required to undergo three years of supervised release, during which he will be required to submit to mental health and substance abuse treatment.
The Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurel B. Milam and Phyllis Clerk managed the prosecution of Bell's case. For more information, the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office has invited inquiries, providing contact details and the office’s internet address in their official press release.
