Zachary Thomas Carson, a 36-year-old resident of Stilwell, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for illegally possessing ammunition. The sentencing was announced by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
Carson pleaded guilty on June 10, 2025, to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. According to investigators, law enforcement officers stopped Carson during a traffic stop on April 21, 2025. During the stop, officers found him with 255 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition, one round of .22 caliber hornet ammunition, a spent casing, and two rifle magazines containing 40 rounds each. At that time, Carson had already been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the District 27 Drug Task Force; the Stilwell Police Department; and the Adair County Sheriff’s Office.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release: “Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).”
Chief U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White presided over Carson’s sentencing in federal court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. Carson will remain in custody with U.S. Marshals until he is transferred to a designated Bureau of Prisons facility to serve his sentence without parole.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob R. Parker prosecuted the case.
