Federal authorities announced this week that a Birmingham man with a prior murder conviction has been sentenced to federal prison for new drug and firearms offenses. U.S. District Judge Corey Maze imposed a 20-year prison term on 33-year-old Francis “Mookie” Williams after Williams pleaded guilty in March to distribution of methamphetamine and to using and carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime. After his prison term ends, Williams will be subject to 10 years of supervised release.
What investigators say happened
Court filings and statements from prosecutors say investigators traced Williams’ activity to two methamphetamine sales in April and May 2023, during which he sold drugs to a confidential informant; in one of those transactions, he displayed a black pistol. In September 2023, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency issued arrest warrants charging Williams with trafficking methamphetamine.
Williams was located and arrested by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force on Jan. 26, 2025, after he left a residence on Worchester Court in Birmingham. A subsequent state search warrant executed at that residence reportedly turned up two 9mm pistols — an SCCY and a Glock — and a machinegun-conversion device commonly called a "Glock switch". Both pistols had previously been reported stolen: the SCCY from Homewood in November 2023 and the Glock from Birmingham in September 2021.
Local implications and enforcement
Prosecutors and law-enforcement leaders framed the case as an example of coordinated federal and state work to remove dangerous individuals and illegal weapons from community streets. Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Phil Williams said law enforcement would respond to violent offenders who continue to commit crimes in neighborhoods. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Steven N. Schrank emphasized the heightened risk when traffickers possess stolen firearms or conversion devices that increase a weapon’s lethality.
- Charges admitted: distribution of methamphetamine; using and carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.
- Sentence: 20 years federal prison, plus 10 years supervised release.
- Recovered items at arrest site: SCCY 9mm, Glock 9mm with conversion device.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| April–May 2023 | Two meth sales to confidential informant |
| Sept. 2023 | ALEA issued trafficking arrest warrants |
| Jan. 26, 2025 | Arrest on Worchester Court, Birmingham |
| March 2026 | Guilty plea entered |
| July 2026 | Sentenced to 20 years |
“Violent individuals who continue to commit crimes in our communities will be met with the fullest extent of the law,”
— Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Phil Williams, on the sentence.
The federal investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer. The reporting on the case was based on federal court records and statements released by the Northern District of Alabama and the investigative agencies.
Williams previously pleaded guilty to murder in 2013 in Jefferson County. The sequence of convictions — a state homicide plea years earlier and this recent federal drug-and-weapons conviction — underlines recurring contact between the defendant and the criminal-justice system, and raises questions for residents and leaders about how to prevent recidivism and illegal guns in Birmingham neighborhoods.
For community members, the sentence represents a concrete example of multiagency enforcement targeting drug trafficking and stolen firearms locally. Law-enforcement officials said the case and the recovered conversion device underscore continuing concerns about modified weapons and the threat they pose to public safety.
