ALBANY, Ga. – A repeat felon with a violent criminal past was sentenced to serve 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm resulting from an Operation Take Back America investigation. Brandon Michael Slachta, 36, of Albany, was sentenced as an armed career criminal to serve 180 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner on Sept. 23. Slachta previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on March 27. “Armed career felons with violent pasts who persist with criminal activity will face federal prosecution in the Middle District of Georgia,” said U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes. Slachta is an armed career criminal, and he knew that he had multiple prior convictions for violent felonies in various states, including Texas, Florida and Arizona.