Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEWNAN, Ga. – Arthur Gene Young, a multi-convicted felon with a history of violence, has been sentenced to federal prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm while resisting police officers in a small west Georgia city.
“Armed felons cannot be allowed to terrorize the citizens of our district,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie, Jr. “After Young was arrested with a firearm for the third time in two years, local law enforcement wisely sought federal assistance to ensure he would be removed from the community. We will continue to work with our partners at all levels to protect the public from gun violence and repeat violent offenders.”
“The law-abiding citizens of this community are safer because of today’s sentence which will ensure the incarceration of a dangerous criminal and contribute to the restoration of order and peace to this area,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Benjamin Gibbons. “This sentence sends a direct message to criminals that ATF and our local law enforcement partners will investigate violent criminals and protect citizens.”
“The partnership of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies is imperative to help local communities stay safe,” said Bremen Police Department Lieutenant Joshua Newman. “The Bremen Police Department would like to thank all the agencies and law enforcement officers that were involved in this case.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie, the charges and other information presented in court: On May 2, 2023, less than a month after his release from state prison for other criminal conduct, Arthur Gene Young shoplifted from a pharmacy located in Bremen, Georgia. He returned to the pharmacy the following morning and argued with the store manager. Police officers responded and, upon learning of the earlier shoplifting incident, escorted Young from the store to arrest him. Young refused to obey the officers’ commands and shouted that he would not go back to prison as he fled the scene.
As officers pursued Young through the center of town and towards a church preschool, Young exclaimed that he was armed and demanded to be left alone. As additional officers responded, Young crossed a highway, scaled a berm, and walked onto an active train track. There, he grabbed the wrist and arm of a deputy sheriff who attempted to detain him. Ultimately, Young tripped, giving officers an opportunity to place handcuffs around one of his wrists. But Young fought the officers and refused to comply as the officers attempted to fully cuff him. During the struggle, one of the officers noticed the grip of a loaded 7.65mm semiautomatic pistol in Young’s right pants pocket. The officer managed to secure the weapon before Young was finally handcuffed.
As a multi-convicted felon, Young was legally prohibited from possessing firearms. Young’s decade-long criminal record included convictions for crimes of violence, such as attempted robbery by intimidation and terroristic threats, as well as other offenses. Additionally, at the time of his arrest following the incident at the Bremen pharmacy, Young was under indictment and on pretrial release in three cases brought in 2021 and 2022 charging him with attempted armed robbery, attempted robbery by intimidation, and two counts each of felon in possession of a firearm, aggravated assault, and simple assault.
Arthur Gene Young, 34, of Bremen, Georgia, was sentenced on April 22, 2025, by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to 14 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Young was convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person on January 14, 2025, after he pleaded guilty in the middle of a jury trial.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bremen Police Department. The Haralson County Sheriff’s Office, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, and Georgia State Patrol provided valuable assistance.
Assistant United States Attorneys Theodore S. Hertzberg and Amy M. Palumbo prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.