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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Alvin Lee McCary of Chilton County was convicted by a federal jury on March 27 for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, a press release from the United States Department of Justice stated. McCary, 57, faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison with no parole, and a sentencing hearing will be scheduled in the coming months. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, and assistant United States attorneys Mark E. Andreu and Ashley J. Avera were the prosecution.

Chilton County law enforcement responded to a Clanton residence following reports of gunfire on July 22, 2020. At the scene, officers found a victim who had multiple gunshot wounds, and after speaking to the victim and witnesses, it was determined that McCary had shot the victim following an argument and fled the scene. Shotgun shell casings were recovered at the scene as well, but not the gun.

Following the shooting, officers located McCary at his residence, and a few days later, a shotgun and more shotgun shells were found in a well in a wooded area behind his residence. Due to his previous felony convictions, McCary is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

At the upcoming sentencing hearing, the judge will determine McCary’s sentence and have to determine if his case will fall under the Armed Career Criminal Act that was enacted in 1984. The act requires a mandatory 15-year prison sentence for individuals who possess a firearm when they are prohibited and have three or more prior federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. If it is determined McCary’s case does fall under this act, he will receive at least 15 years in prison.

McCary’s case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program “bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone,” the press release said. The program was brought back in 2017 in part of the Department of Justice’s renewed focus on “targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime,” the press release concluded.