A former Stone County chief deputy will spend nearly three years in federal prison for selling a stolen sniper rifle and using his position to extort money, federal prosecutors said in a Tuesday news release.
Zachary Hunter Alexander, 40, of Lakeview, was sentenced to 33 months behind bars by U.S. District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky, according to Jonathan D. Ross, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Alexander also must serve two years of supervised release and pay $153,786.84 in restitution.
Alexander pleaded guilty Aug. 14, 2023, to selling a stolen firearm and extortion under color of official right. He was indicted in May 2022 on 11 counts, including bank fraud, firearm theft, and multiple extortion charges.
Prosecutors said Alexander purchased two Remington 700, 6.5 Creedmoor sniper rifles on May 31, 2019, and days later was reimbursed by the Stone County Sheriff’s Foundation for the weapons. In December 2019, he sold one of the rifles — property of the Sheriff’s Office — for personal gain.
The release said that in February 2020, Alexander misused his authority as the Chief Deputy for the Sheriff’s Office to obtain $3,809.10 from the Stone County Treasurer. Alexander stated it was to reimburse a pawn shop for rifles, ammunition, and equipment purchased for the Sheriff’s Office. However, Alexander took the check to the owner of pawn shop, who accompanied Alexander to the bank, then endorsed the check and let Alexander keep the cash. As in other similar instances alleged in the indictment, no items were actually purchased from the pawn shop.
The restitution order primarily covers improperly cashed checks from a pawn shop, fraudulent personal purchases on a Sheriff’s Office credit card, and a check-kiting scheme at several banks, prosecutors said. There is no parole in the federal prison system.
The case was investigated by the Arkansas State Police with assistance from the Stone County Sheriff’s Office, the Stone County Sheriff’s Foundation, the Stone County treasurer’s office, the 16th Judicial District prosecutor’s office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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