Oregon Felon Sentenced to 10 years in Federal Prison

EUGENE, Ore. – Christopher Shawn Kanatzar, 28, Springfield, Oregon, appeared before U. S. District Court Chief Judge Ann Aiken in Eugene today and was sentenced to ten years in prison. Earlier this year, Kanatzar pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a 9 mm pistol found by Springfield police in a stolen car following a high speed chase. Kanatzar and two police officers sustained injuries when he resisted arrest after the pursuit ended.

In March 2013, Kanatzar also pled guilty in an Oregon court to robbery in the first degree with a firearm. Kanatzar admitted robbing a person of their methamphetamine at gunpoint. Kanatzar is pending sentencing for that crime.

Chief Judge Aiken sentenced Kanatzar to the maximum sentence of ten years because he possessed the pistol after having been previously convicted of unlawfully using and possessing firearms, first degree burglary and first degree theft. According to court documents and statements made in court, Kanatzar’s state sentences will be served concurrently while he is in federal prison.

Kanatzar’s guilty plea, admissions and 10-year prison sentence were part of a global plea agreement with the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon and the Lane County District Attorney’s Office.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Springfield Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank R. Papagni, Jr., with the assistance of Lane County Deputy District Attorney Erik Hasselman.