What started as gunfire inside an Olive Branch hotel corridor has ended with a four-decade prison term. On Thursday, a DeSoto County judge sentenced 27-year-old Alvin J. Myles Jr. to 40 years in prison after a jury convicted him of attempted murder in a January 2023 shooting at the Olive Branch Hilton Garden Inn. The victim was left critically injured. Because jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on punishment, the judge stepped in and imposed the sentence, adding five years of reporting post-release supervision.
Case background
In January 2023, officers were called to the Hilton Garden Inn after reports of gunfire and found a person suffering from gunshot wounds. The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition. Olive Branch police later identified and arrested Myles, who authorities say fled the scene before he was located. Early details of the arrest and investigation were reported by Action News 5.
Verdict and sentence
At trial, prosecutors told jurors they were seeking the maximum punishment, a life sentence, according to WREG. The jury ultimately found Myles guilty of attempted murder but could not agree on how long he should serve. With the panel deadlocked on punishment, the court imposed a 40-year prison term and five years of supervised post-release reporting, consistent with what the district attorney's office described. The conviction stems from the January 2023 shooting at the Olive Branch hotel.
Local context
The outcome fits a broader pattern in DeSoto County, where prosecutors have taken a hard line on violent crime in recent years. In a separate DeSoto County case last year, another defendant received a 40-year term, DeSoto County News reported, underscoring the district attorney's focus on holding violent offenders accountable.
The sentence in Myles's case closes a file that drew a large police response in North Mississippi three years ago. He will be transferred to the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections to begin serving the term. The district attorney's office prosecuted the case and said it will continue seeking accountability in shootings that injure community members.
