Armed Career Criminal faces 15 Years to Life in Prison for Firearm Possession

Memphis, TN – Cortez Williams, 36, of Memphis, was convicted by a federal jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm and will face an enhanced penalty of 15 years to life imprisonment for being an Armed Career Criminal. United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant announced the guilty verdict today.

According to the evidence presented at trial, on June 11, 2024, officers with the Memphis Police Department pulled over a black Nissan Z for displaying tags belonging to a different car. The defendant, Cortez Williams, was driving the car. Instead of pulling over to the side of the road, he pulled into a gas station and began pretending he was putting air in one of the car’s tires. On recorded body camera, the jurors were able to see the two police officers park and approach Williams’s vehicle.

The first officer immediately saw a Glock 17 with a large 30-round extended magazine and a tactical light attached to it wedged between the driver’s seat and the center console. The officers asked Williams if he was a convicted felon. He said yes and was then arrested. Williams then also admitted to knowing the gun was in the car. The defendant’s girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter was in the front passenger seat of the car and was within inches of the loaded firearm.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty after about two hours of deliberation. The jury found that Williams had 4 previous convictions for violent felonies on different occasions including Facilitation of Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Robbery, and Aggravated Burglary. This finding will lead to Williams being sentenced as an Armed Career Criminal, and he will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to life imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system.

Williams is set to be sentenced on June 11, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, "THIS is how we reduce violent crime in Memphis and prevent the next homicide – Remove dangerous and repeat offenders from the community BEFORE they pull the trigger again. We will restore Law and Order in Memphis by imposing real consequences – aggressively and unapologetically.”

The case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department and the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney J. William Crow and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cohenmeyer of the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

###

For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.