Man Sentenced to Over Nine Years in Federal Prison for Robbing Two Montgomery Convenience Stores

            Montgomery, Ala. – On April 10, 2025, a federal judge ordered that Jalen Lamarcus Gunn, a 21-year-old man from Montgomery, Alabama, serve 111 months in prison after pleading guilty to robbery and firearm charges, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. Following his prison sentence, Gunn will serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

            According to his plea agreement and other court records, on April 27, 2024, Gunn entered a convenience store on Wares Ferry Road in Montgomery and leapt over the counter. Gunn then pointed a firearm at the clerk and demanded money from the register be placed in a plastic bag. Gunn then fled the store with approximately $3,000. Just two days later, on April 29^th, Gunn robbed a convenience store on Perry Hill Road in a similar fashion, again pointing a handgun at the clerk and demanding money. This time, Gunn made away with $2,500 and multiple packs of cigarettes. During his November 8, 2024, plea hearing, Gunn pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a federal crime of violence.

            This case was prosecuted as part of the Middle District of Alabama’s Violent Offender Intervention and Deterrence (VOID) program. Launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in March 2024, VOID aims to reduce violent crime by enhancing coordination, communication, and collaboration with law enforcement partners. The program focuses on working directly with local agencies—as well as traditional federal partners—to prosecute violent offenders and armed felons, dismantle drug trafficking organizations, and build proactive cases targeting gangs and repeat violent offenders. At its core, VOID prioritizes the most serious violent crime cases and fosters close working relationships with state and local prosecutors and law enforcement throughout the Montgomery River Region.

            “Prosecuting individuals who endanger innocent lives through armed robbery and other violent crimes is the very reason my office started the VOID program,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Davidson. “Jalen Gunn traumatized his victims by threatening them with a gun pointed at their heads, an act of pure intimidation and violence. This prosecution should send a clear warning: if you choose to terrorize our communities with guns, you will be held accountable. I am grateful to our VOID partners for their unwavering commitment and collaboration in bringing this defendant to justice.”

            “This type of behavior has to stop and the men and women of the FBI, along with our partners in law enforcement, are dedicated to tracking down the individuals who continuously victimize their own communities,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Rachel A. Byrd. “This sentence should send a clear message to those who refuse to obey the law.”

            The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Montgomery Police Department investigated this case, with Assistant United States Attorney Christopher P. Moore prosecuting.