Phillip Leon Leggett, a 30-year-old resident of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 102 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegal firearm possession. The sentencing was announced by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), joined U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.
Court records reveal that in fall 2023 CMPD officers were monitoring an area in Charlotte when they noticed Leggett concealing a firearm in his sweatshirt pocket. As officers approached him, Leggett fled on foot. During the pursuit, two firearms fell from his person along his flight path. Officers recovered a black Taurus PT111 G2 9mm loaded with a magazine and an unregistered “ghost gun” fitted with a 17-round magazine and a round in the chamber. Further investigation revealed Leggett’s criminal history includes multiple felony common law robbery convictions which prohibit him from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Leggett will be transferred to federal custody upon designation to a facility.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson expressed gratitude to the ATF and CMPD for their investigation efforts. The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.
