Newport Man Found Guilty By Sevier County Jury

It took less than an hour for a jury in Sevier County to find a Newport man guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Back in September of 2020, Christopher Joe Whaley of Newport was pulled over for a traffic violation in Sevierville. Whaley was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia but was also found to be in possession of a loaded handgun. Whaley is a convicted felon and is prohibited by law from being in possession of a firearm. Whaley will be sentenced in Sevier County Court on May 17th.