A federal judge sentenced a Chattanooga man accused of shooting a police officer to 10 years in prison on Thursday in a hearing filled with soliloquies.
Celvin "Squeaky" Houston, 43, is accused of shooting Officer William McMillan five times in March 2013 as the officer responded to a call in East Lake Courts. McMillan survived and attended Thursday's sentencing.
Houston has not been convicted of shooting the officer. Rather, a federal jury found Houston guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm on the day of the officer's shooting.
Houston was sentenced solely on that charge on Thursday.
Houston does face an attempted first-degree murder charge in the officer's shooting in Hamilton County Criminal Court. That case is still pending - much to the chagrin of U.S. District Judge Harry S. "Sandy" Mattice, who lamented that Houston faced charges in both state and federal courts for the same incident.
"What a reasonable citizen would say is that attempted murder is what we're really talking about here," he said. "That is a state crime. This is crazy. This is a state case but we're here in federal court. And there are a lot of reasons for it."
A firearm charge in federal court can carry heavier penalties than it would in state court because of federal sentencing guidelines. Mattice suggested the average citizen could see the federal possession charge as a way for authorities to tack on time to Houston's punishment.
"This is the federal justice system that we've got," he said. "But it does not lend itself to what the average citizen thinks about justice."
At one point, Mattice picked up a book of federal sentencing guidelines and threw it across the room.
"The Supreme Court says I can do that, right?" he asked.
"It does," said Amanda Dunn, Houston's attorney.
"I just did it," Mattice replied.
The 10-year sentence is the maximum amount of time Mattice could have given Houston for the possession of a firearm charge.
In state court, Houston could face up to 60 years in prison on the attempted first-degree murder charge. He is accused of springing out from behind a screen door and shooting McMillon five times while the officer investigated a disorder in East Lake Courts.
Authorities said McMillon fell down after he was hit and claimed Houston continued to shoot the officer as he lay on the ground before fleeing when his gun jammed. Investigators found a cell phone near the shooting that they say belonged to Houston and also allege Houston told multiple people that he'd shot a police officer.
Mattice declined to say whether Houston's federal sentence would run concurrently or consecutively to any sentence he may receive in Criminal Court if he is convicted of attempted first-degree murder. Houston is scheduled to appear in Criminal Court on Feb. 27.
In addition to the 10-year prison sentence, Houston also must complete a 500-hour drug treatment program and serve three years of supervised release.
Before Mattice formally sentenced Houston, he gave the 43-year-old a chance to address the court. Houston, handcuffed and dressed in a bright yellow jail jumpsuit, seized the moment.
In a rambling speech, Houston accused Mattice of being unfairly biased against him, alleged that Police Chief Fred Fletcher was covering up officer misconduct and claimed Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Poole did a poor job prosecuting the case.
He also reiterated that he believed the court was putting too much emphasis on his criminal history, an argument that Dunn made unsuccessfully on his behalf earlier in the hearing.
"This instance is something totally out of character, if I did it," he said. "Which has not been proven."
Houston then ended the speech abruptly and laughed.
"And I'm through," he said. "That was just me venting. I feel good. I feel good."