West Memphis Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Machinegun Possession

A federal court on December 18, 2025 handed down the maximum sentence allowed by law, 120 months in prison, to 20 year old Martinez Alexander Jr. for unlawful possession of a machinegun connected to a December 15, 2023 drive by shooting in West Memphis. United States District Judge Brian S. Miller also ordered three years of supervised release to follow the decade behind bars.

The shooting left two teenage males struck multiple times and badly injured, and bullets struck a nearby home where a mother and young child were present. Investigators recovered thirty nine shell casings at the scene. A state arrest warrant for attempted capital murder was issued for Alexander and 21 year old Jaylan Atkins after the attack.

Police located the pair on December 31, 2023 in a stolen Dodge Charger. Officers attempted a traffic stop and a high speed chase through West Memphis lasted more than five minutes before officers used a tactical maneuver to disable the vehicle by the railroad tracks off Missouri Street. Atkins, who was driving, fled on foot and was arrested with a Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun outfitted with a machinegun conversion device that allowed fully automatic fire. Officers pursuing the Charger observed movement in the backseat and saw Alexander open the rear door and toss an object. After Alexander was taken into custody, a tan 9mm Glock with an extended magazine and a gold conversion device was found outside the backseat driver side door. That firearm tested as capable of fully automatic fire and was linked to the December shooting.

Alexander was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 7, 2024. His jury trial began on August 18, 2025 and after four days of testimony, including from the victims, jurors deliberated roughly thirty minutes before returning a guilty verdict. Atkins pleaded guilty earlier on February 5, 2025 and received a 103 month federal sentence on October 22, 2025. Federal sentences offer no parole.

The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the West Memphis Police Department. The prosecutions were handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Bowen and Bart Dickinson.

For Phillips County residents the case is a stark reminder of how illegal firearms and conversion devices can escalate neighborhood violence and endanger bystanders, including children. The federal sentence reflects both the severity of the crime and the broader effort by federal and local authorities to address gun violence that crosses jurisdictional lines.