Juve Markie Lequan McAlpin, 24, of Asheville, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and three years of supervised release for possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The announcement was made by Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Michael Lamb of the Asheville Police Department joined U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.
Court records indicate that McAlpin was previously convicted on August 4, 2022, in federal court for illegal firearm possession and sentenced to prison. After his release, he was placed under federal supervision.
On April 24, 2024, while still serving his supervised release term, McAlpin was arrested at a Shell gas station in Hendersonville. During the arrest, law enforcement searched the vehicle where McAlpin was a passenger and found a loaded Taurus model 65 .357 caliber revolver with its serial number removed on the passenger-side floorboard. Officers also recovered a black hoodie from the vehicle.
Further investigation revealed that McAlpin had worn that same hoodie on April 20, 2024, when he fired two rounds into a moving vehicle at an apartment complex in Asheville. A passenger inside was struck in the leg and later treated at a hospital for a gunshot wound.
McAlpin remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons once a facility is designated.
“In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the ATF and the Asheville Police Department for their investigation of the case.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast prosecuted this case.
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice that aims to combat illegal immigration and eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime through coordinated efforts like OCDETFs and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
