Federal prosecutors announced in a news release on Tuesday that a former Stone County chief deputy who sold a stolen sniper weapon and used his position to extort money would serve almost three years in federal prison.
U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas Jonathan D. Ross said U.S. District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky sentenced Zachary Hunter Alexander, 40, of Lakeview, to 33 months in prison. Alexander is also required to pay $153,786.84 in restitution and undergo two years of supervised release.
On August 14, 2023, Alexander entered a guilty plea to extortion under official right and selling a stolen handgun. In May 2022, he was indicted on 11 counts, including many extortion accusations, bank fraud, and firearm theft.
According to the prosecution, Alexander bought two Remington 700, 6.5 Creedmoor sniper rifles on May 31, 2019, and the Stone County Sheriff’s Foundation compensated him for the purchases a few days later. For his own benefit, he sold one of the sheriff’s office’s weapons in December 2019.
According to the announcement, Alexander obtained $3,809.10 from the Stone County Treasurer in February 2020 by abusing his position as Chief Deputy for the Sheriff’s Office. According to Alexander, it was to pay back a pawn shop for the Sheriff’s Office’s purchases of weapons, ammo, and other supplies. Nevertheless, Alexander presented the check to the pawn shop owner, who escorted Alexander to the bank, signed the check, and allowed Alexander to keep the money. No goods were indeed bought from the pawn business, as was the case in other such cases claimed in the indictment.
According to prosecutors, the restitution order mostly addresses fraudulent personal purchases made with a Sheriff’s Office credit card, improperly cashed checks from a pawn shop, and a check-kiting scheme at multiple banks. The federal prison system does not offer parole.
The Arkansas State Police conducted the investigation with support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the 16th Judicial District prosecutor’s office, the Stone County treasurer’s office, the Stone County Sheriff’s Office, and the Stone County Sheriff’s Foundation.
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