Community youth advocate arrested in Little Rock on gun, drug charges

Chris Alexander
Chris Alexander

A 41-year-old man who helped found a community organization for youths was arrested in Little Rock this week on gun and drug charges.

Little Rock police, with assistance from a joint law enforcement task force, arrested Chris Alexander of Little Rock on Tuesday and charged him with 11 felonies, including one count of simultaneous possession of guns and drugs, and three counts of possession of a firearm by certain persons.

Alexander is known for helping found Better Community and Family Values, a community organization that coordinates sports and programs for its members, group officials have said in the past.

Alexander was arrested Tuesday on a felony drug warrant, according to court records. According to an affidavit, police found a bag of marijuana in Alexander's apartment while investigating the killing of his 14-year-old son, Cyncere Alexander, who was shot in July at the apartment complex in west Little Rock.

In that killing, the teen was found by police lying dead in an apartment at 1502 Green Mountain Drive after officers arrived there to investigate a report of a shooting, the affidavit said.

Court documents said police found a white plastic bag containing 1.8 pounds of marijuana lying open on a bed in the apartment. According to the affidavit, several items inside the bag were "in the name" of Chris Alexander, including an arrest report and paperwork for a vehicle.

Chris Alexander, along with 40-year-old Kenya Davis of Banks, were arrested Tuesday afternoon at 1102 Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive, according to a report.

The report said a 2012 Dodge Challenger, driven by Davis, had pulled into the business just before the arrest. Inside the vehicle, authorities found a black backpack with about 7 pounds of marijuana and Alexander's wallet, according to authorities.

Lt. Michael Ford, a police spokesman, said authorities also found that Alexander was in possession of a rifle.

Later that day, police executed a search and seizure warrant at Alexander's business at 515 S. James St. in Jacksonville, according to police reports. Ford said police found two more rifles, along with body armor and more marijuana. An arrest report said one of the three rifles found Tuesday had a sawed off barrel.

In total, police charged Alexander with 11 felony counts, including possession of body armor and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to an arrest report. He was listed on the Pulaski County jail inmate roster Thursday night.

Davis, who was not listed on the jail roster, faces one count of possession of marijuana with purpose, according to a report.

A joint task force led by the FBI assisted in Tuesday's arrest of Alexander, officials say. Along with Little Rock police, officers with the Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas National Guard were at the scene of the arrest.

The joint task force, known as the Gang Enforcement Team Rock Task Force, was announced by Gov. Asa Hutchinson after a shooting at a Little Rock nightclub left 28 people injured. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Givens said the task force offers tactical and surveillance support in targeting violent crime and gangs in Little Rock.

"There's been multiple people arrested as a result of GET Rock" Givens said.

In particular, Givens said the task force was involved in the arrest of 19-year-old Tyler Jackson, whom Little Rock police say was the initial shooter in the gunfire at the nightclub.

Beyond surveillance and tactical support, the task force also has law enforcement officers who act as community liaisons, talking to community leaders and visiting community centers, Givens said. He said the liaisons even talk to gang members and provide information on alternatives to gang life.

"GET Rock is providing a lot of different levels of support," he said.

Givens declined to say whether Alexander was a gang member but did mention that Alexander has identified himself as a former gang member.

In May, officials with Better Community and Family Values spoke at a city Board of Director's meeting. One official identified Alexander as being in charge of the organization's "sports department."

Nyle Daniels, a program director and co-founder of the group, also spoke at the May meeting and described the organization's work with the city's youths. Daniels said Police Chief Kenton Buckner and City Manager Bruce Moore were big supporters of the organization.

"We took the words from Bloods, Crips, Folks and Vice Lords, and changed it to a better meaning -- Better Community and Family Values," he said at the May meeting. "Everything is about our community."

In an interview earlier this year, Daniels described Alexander as the founder of the organization. Daniels, who was reached by phone Thursday, declined to comment about Alexander's arrest.

On Thursday, Buckner said it was disappointing to hear about Alexander's arrest. Yet, he said he still supports the organization's efforts.

"I still subscribe to the principles of the program," he said. Buckner said Little Rock police have played basketball with kids from the organization and have coordinated with the group on other programs.

Buckner said he's confident the remaining people who run the program will be a positive influence. He added that there is nothing that led authorities to believe the organization was part of Alexander's criminal activity.

No arrest has been made in the death of Cyncere Alexander, and the investigation is ongoing.

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Metro on 10/27/2017

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