Jonathan D. Ross U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas
Christopher Grays of West Memphis has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after his second conviction for being a felon in possession of firearms. The sentence was announced by Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and handed down by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr.
A federal grand jury indicted Grays, 25, on June 6, 2024, for one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He pleaded guilty to the charge on February 4, 2025. In addition to the prison term, Judge Moody imposed three years of supervised release after incarceration. This sentence represents an upward variance from the recommended range. There is no parole available in the federal system.
Judge Moody had previously sentenced Grays to 46 months’ imprisonment on November 16, 2020, also for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Grays was released from federal prison on October 4, 2023. He was arrested again on February 28, 2024—while still under federal supervised release—when he was found with two firearms.
According to testimony at the sentencing hearing, West Memphis Police responded to a call about a female allegedly being held against her will and reports that Grays had multiple guns at a local hotel room. Officers encountered Grays at the door and observed an extended ammunition magazine in his back pocket. During efforts to detain him, Grays kicked several police officers.
After detaining Grays, police found two firearms hidden in the toilet tank of the hotel bathroom; one gun was loaded with ammunition matching that found in Grays’ pocket.
During sentencing, Judge Moody reviewed details from multiple police reports describing alleged gun violence involving Grays dating back to his time as a juvenile. Between 2015 and 2020, more than 17 police reports mentioned Grays and described violent conduct.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the West Memphis Police Department investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Chris Givens prosecuted it.
