In Memphis, a repeat offender named Christopher Walker has been sentenced to a hefty 35-year term in federal prison for unlawful firearm possession and drug trafficking. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee, the 38-year-old was condemned for having a machine gun as a convicted felon during a drug deal. The sentence was handed down on Wednesday by United States District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr.
Documents from the court reveal that in an October 2024 sting operation by ATF agents, Walker sold a confidential informant 98 grams of marijuana and a firearm. At the time, Walker was working as a security guard at a local motel. He went on to conduct a second sale in December, trading a gun with an attached Machinegun Conversion Device (MCD) and 103 grams of marijuana. Having previously been convicted for violent crimes, Walker's possession of a machine gun during drug trafficking provided an unquestionable threat to community safety.
The trial, which spanned three days ending on October 2, 2025, saw Walker found guilty on multiple counts, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, drug possession with the intent to distribute, and carrying a machine gun in relation to drug trafficking offenses. As stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the absence of parole in the federal system means Walker is set to serve the entire 421-month sentence.
“Firearms equipped with MCDs are extremely dangerous devices that can cause multiple injuries or fatalities in less than one second,” said U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee, “When combined with drug trafficking, they demonstrate an unacceptable risk to public safety that justifies a long prison sentence.”
This case falls under the investigative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Prosecutors Assistant U.S. Attorney Jermal Blanchard and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Clinton Crosier represented the government in bringing Walker to justice.
