West Memphis Resident to Spend 10 Years in Prison Following Second Federal Felon in Possession of Firearms Conviction

      LITTLE ROCK—A second federal firearm conviction has resulted in Christopher Grays spending the next 120 months in prison. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the 10-year sentence, which was handed down today by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr.

      A federal grand jury indicted Grays, 25, of West Memphis, on June 6, 2024, on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Grays pleaded guilty to the charge on February 4, 2025. Judge Moody also imposed three years of supervised release to follow the prison sentence, which was a significant upward variance from the recommended sentencing range. There is no parole in the federal system.

      Judge Moody previously sentenced Grays to 46 months’ imprisonment on November 16, 2020, in Grays’ first federal case, again for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Grays was released from federal prison on that sentence on October 4, 2023. He was then arrested in the present case while in possession of two firearms on February 28, 2024, while still on federal supervised release.

      On February 28, 2024, according to testimony disclosed at today’s sentencing hearing, West Memphis Police received a call about a female being held against her will and a subject, identified as Grays, being in possession of multiple guns in a West Memphis hotel room. When officers arrived at the hotel room, they encountered Grays at the door and saw an extended ammunition magazine in his back pocket. Grays kicked multiple police officers while they attempted to take him into custody.

      After Grays was detained, officers located two firearms in the toilet tank of the hotel bathroom, including one which was loaded with the same ammunition that was in the magazine in Grays’ pocket.

      At the sentencing hearing, Judge Moody heard details from numerous police reports describing alleged gun violence that involved Grays, which began when he was a juvenile. In a five-year span from 2015-2020, Grays was mentioned in more than 17 police reports, with most detailing violent conduct.

      This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the West Memphis Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Chris Givens prosecuted the case.

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Additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

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