Macon arms dealer gets 16-year-plus sentence for gun trafficking

MACON – A convicted felon has been sentenced to serve more than 16 years in a federal prison, the result of a lengthy investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office into illegal firearms trafficking in the Macon area, Charlie” Peeler, the former United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced before his resignation took affect Friday.

Keon Hendley, 35, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 200 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marc Treadwell after previously pleading guilty to one count of possession of a firearm and one count of possession of cocaine. In addition, Hendley was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system.

ATF agents, working with a confidential informant, negotiated the purchase of large amounts of firearms from Hendley, a convicted felon, on four separate occasions in 2019 at various locations across Macon. In total, 23 firearms were obtained from Hendley during this operation, along with methamphetamine and cocaine. Five of those firearms were confirmed stolen by the ATF.

“Shutting down this prolific illegal arms dealer in the Macon community has undoubtedly prevented additional crimes and violence,” Peeler said in a news release. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is working closely with our law enforcement partners in the quest to curb gun violence and crime, and we will hold those breaking the law accountable. I want to thank ATF and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for their excellent work investigating this case.”

“We must do all we can to take illegal guns off our streets,” Arthur Peralta, special agent in charge of ATF Atlanta, said. “ Firearm traffickers like Keon Hendley put guns in the hands of criminals, which leads to violence, destruction and heartache for so many of our communities. The Bibb County Sheriff is committed to reducing gun violence in Macon and throughout Bibb County, and ATF will continue to do all we can to identify, investigate and arrest anyone who sells guns illegally and threatens the safety of our neighborhoods.”

The investigation was conducted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. The case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.

The case was investigated by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Criminal Division Chief Michael Solis and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Calhoun prosecuted the case for the government.

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