A 43-year-old Nashville man has been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, with the offenses stemming from separate incidents in August 2024 and July 2025. Brandon Muse must first return to the Tennessee Department of Corrections to complete state prison sentences tied to Davidson County convictions before he is transferred into federal custody to begin serving his federal term.
According to court filings cited by WKRN News 2, Muse pleaded guilty to the two felon-in-possession counts, with the firearm-related offenses occurring on August 4, 2024, and July 30, 2025. A judge ordered that his 54-month federal sentence run concurrently with previously imposed state court sentences, a decision that reflects the discretion federal judges hold under 18 U.S.C. § 3584 to align new federal terms with undischarged state time, according to the NDNY Federal Court Bar Association. Even with that concurrent designation, federal truth-in-sentencing rules mean Muse will still need to serve at least 85% of his federal sentence, since federal parole was abolished in 1984.
State Convictions Preceded the Federal Case
Muse's path to federal prison ran through Davidson County courts. He was convicted there of felony evading arrest by motor vehicle and misdemeanor driving under the influence on April 23, 2026, and separately convicted of misdemeanor driving under the influence on December 15, 2025, per the same report. Tennessee classifies evading arrest by motor vehicle as a Class E felony under T.C.A. § 39-16-603, carrying a sentence range of one to six years in state prison along with a mandatory minimum 30-day jail term, according to the Oberman & Rice Law Firm.
State DUI law adds its own mandatory floor. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 55-10-401, a first-offense misdemeanor DUI conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail — rising to seven consecutive days if blood alcohol content reaches 0.20% or higher — plus up to 11 months and 29 days in custody and a one-year license suspension, the Keeton Law Firm, PLLC notes. Those state convictions are what Muse must finish serving before he transfers to federal prison.
Federal Firearm Law and Supervised Release
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) makes it a crime for anyone previously convicted of a felony to possess, ship, or receive firearms or ammunition, carrying a statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison and a 15-year minimum for certain repeat offenders. To convict someone under that statute, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knew they possessed a firearm and knew they were a convicted felon, a standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Rehaif v. United States and reinforced in Greer v. United States, according to the Duke Center for Firearms Law.
Beyond prison time, Muse must serve three years of supervised release once his sentence is complete. During that period he is required to participate in adult education programs and substance abuse treatment, according to L&L Law Group.
Middle Tennessee's Firearm Prosecution Push
Muse's case fits a broader pattern in the Middle District of Tennessee, which stood out nationally in fiscal year 2025 for the sheer volume of felon-in-possession prosecutions it pursued. Section 922(g) cases accounted for 41% of all federal criminal convictions in the district that year, according to United States Sentencing Commission data.
Braden H. Boucek served as the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee in 2026, overseeing federal efforts targeting violent crime and illegal firearm possession by convicted felons, per the U.S. Department of Justice.
Nationally, the sentencing commission found that 98% of defendants convicted under § 922(g) in fiscal year 2025 were men, with an average age of 37 and nearly a quarter falling into the highest criminal history category.
