TYLER/SMITH COUNTY (KYTX) - Nearly five months ago, Benjamin Thomas Ferrell was the incumbent constable of Rusk County Precinct 2. Tonight, he is also a convicted felon.
Ferrell pled guilty in federal court Tuesday to one count of knowingly selling a firearm to a person prohibited from owning such a weapon. According to records from the U.S. District Courthouse in Tyler, Ferrell sold a Norinko SKS semi-automatic assault rifle to a man he knew was a convicted felon.
"I was aware that the individual was a convicted felon at the time and that, as such, he a prohibited person under the law and that it was illegal for me to sell the firearm to him," Ferrell stated in a factual resume that he signed Tuesday into federal court records.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $250,000. A sentencing date has not been set.
Ferrell's plea is part of a plea agreement he and his attorney David Moore signed Tuesday. Though terms of the agreement are sealed, it is believed that prosecutors may forego Count I of Ferrell's indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to possess and distribute several controlled substances, including hydromorphone, hydrocodone, phentermine and marijuana.
Charges against his wife, 32-year-old Amanda Ferrell, are pending in state court in Rusk County.
Ferrell's re-election bid was defeated in the Democratic primary May 28 by Elton W. Brock by a 659-244 vote margin.
