Jury Convicts Jacksonville Man of Firearms Charges
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A federal jury has convicted Renford Stephenson Williams of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of a machinegun. The trial, which spanned three days, ended on Thursday, October 29, 2026, with guilty verdicts on all counts for Williams, 36, of Jacksonville. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the verdict.
Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 9, 2024, and ultimately went to trial on one count of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and one count of possession of a machinegun.
The evidence at trial proved that Williams, who is a felon and on parole, lived at a residence in Beebe without consent from his parole officer. In June 2024, a search warrant was executed at the Beebe residence, and officers located 13 firearms in Williams’ bedroom. Also located in Williams’ bedroom were his identification card, a utility bill in his name for that Beebe address, and other documents in his name.
One of the firearms located was a Glock that was outfitted with a machinegun conversion device, making it a machinegun. Back in March 2024, Williams was a suspect in a shooting at a residence. The Arkansas State Crime Laboratory compared the 9 mm expended cartridge casings that were collected from that scene in March 2024 to all the 9 mm firearms recovered from Williams’ bedroom during the execution of the search warrant in June 2024. Analysts determined that one of the firearms, a Tisas Zigana, was used to shoot some of the 9 mm cartridge casings recovered from the scene of the shooting in March.
After deliberating for less than an hour, the jury found Williams guilty of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of a machinegun. Williams was detained following the jury’s verdict and will be sentenced at a later date. Williams’ charges carry a sentence of up to 15 years’ imprisonment for the felon in possession of a firearm charge, and up to 10 years’ imprisonment on the machinegun charge. The Court may also sentence Williams to up to three years’ supervised release to follow. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the White County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted and tried by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin O’Leary and Keylie Powell.
