Former Tennessee guardsman sentenced to 50 years in shooting

By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) - A former Tennessee National Guard recruiter who was convicted on multiple federal charges in a shooting at an armory north of Memphis has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. Amos Patton, 43, was accused of wounding three superiors and pointing a handgun at a fourth in October 2013 at a Tennessee National Guard recruiting center in Millington minutes after he was told he was being relieved of duty for misconduct. A jury convicted him in February on four counts of assault with intent to commit murder, four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily image, and discharge of a firearm. He was sentenced on Thursday, prosecutors said. His superiors had told Patton, who was a first sergeant, that they were recommending a reduction in rank and separation from the guard. Patton was accused of retrieving a 9mm handgun from a car and then firing it in a struggle with superiors. One officer was wounded in the leg, a second in the foot and a third was grazed by a bullet, authorities said at the time. Millington is about 16 miles north of Memphis. (Reporting by Tim Ghianni; Editing by David Bailey and Lisa Lambert)