Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

From United States Attorney’s Office

Montgomery – Two men from Chilton County have been sentenced for illegally possessing firearms, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart.

On Aug. 3, 2022, Joshua Eugean Bean, 38, from Maplesville, was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Last summer, James Ryan Little, 27, from Clanton, was sentenced to 90 months.

According to their plea agreements and other court documents, in May of 2018, the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office was on the lookout for a truck that had been reported stolen. It was also reported that there were multiple firearms inside the truck. On May 29, 2018, an investigator from the sheriff’s office spotted the truck and initiated a stop. Four individuals were in the vehicle, including Bean and Little, along with seven firearms. The investigator identified Bean and Little as suspects in the theft of the truck and the guns. Both men had previously been convicted of felony offenses and were therefore prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms. A grand jury indicted Bean and Little in October of 2020, charging each one with unlawfully possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony offense. Later, each pleaded guilty to the charge.

When pronouncing Bean’s sentence, the judge noted that when Bean was arrested on Nov.9, 2020 —just two weeks after his federal indictment — he was again found to be in possession of a firearm.

Following their prison sentences, Bean and Little will be on supervised release for three years. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Russell T. Duraski prosecuted the case.