Montgomery man arrested for possessing a machine gun conversion device

A Montgomery man is facing a federal charge for possessing a firearm with a machinegun conversion device.

Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson said 20-year-old Jeremiah Williams was arrested Thursday for illegally possessing a machinegun.

According to court documents obtained by Action 8 News, the arrest stems from intelligence gathering activities associated with the Metro Area Crime Suppression unit, or MACS.

During the operation, law enforcement located a Facebook account identified by the vanity name “Jesse Owens.”

After further investigation, law enforcement identified the male in the pictures as Williams.

Court records say the account was found to have references to machinegun conversion devices, including a post that was dated July 5, 2024.

The complaint says the post depicts several pictures of Williams holding an AR type firearm and an inside the waistband handgun holster clip is visible on the front of his waistband.

Court records say in the early morning of November 10, Tuskegee police were called to the shooting on Tuskegee University’s campus that killed one person and injured 16 others.

Law enforcement says through witness interviews, it was learned that several vehicles were doing “burnouts” in the parking lot before the shooting began. One of those vehicles was identified as a white Dodge Charger.

One of the witness videos showed the Charger and a black male wearing a green jacket can be seen in the front passenger seat.

On November 11, 2024, law enforcement reviewed a recent posts made to Williams’ Facebook page. On November 10, Williams posted that he needed “all of the videos of me last night in a white charger.”

Later that day, Williams posted several videos and pictures depicting him in a white Dodge Charger. In one of the videos, court documents say a black male wearing a green jacket can be seen sitting in the front passenger seat of the Charger. The video depicts the Charger doing a burnout and appears to be at Tuskegee University.

Court documents say in one of the pictures, Williams can be seen holding an AR type firearm in his hand.

After a federal search warrant was executed at Williams’ home in Montgomery, the suspect admitted to being present at Tuskegee University that evening, but denied discharging his firearm during the shooting.

Law enforcement officials have not officially said if Williams is involved in the shooting.

18-year-old La’Tavion Johnson, of Troy, was killed in that shooting. University leaders say Johnson was not a Tuskegee University student. The shooting happened during the weekend of the school’s 100th homecoming celebration.

The State Bureau of Investigation has arrested 25-year-old Jaquez Myrick of Montgomery on charges that he possessed a handgun that had a machine gun conversion device. They say he was seen leaving the scene. He is facing a federal charge of possessing a machine gun.

Williams made his initial appearance in federal court Friday and remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing next week.