BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A convicted felon has been sentenced for illegally possessing a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr.

Chief United States District Judge Madeline H. Haikala sentenced Darrie Dewayne Ziegler, 32, of Birmingham, to 92 months in prison. In July 2025, Ziegler pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

"Violent offenders who continue to disregard the law will be held accountable," said U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. "I commend the outstanding work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners for their dedication to protecting the citizens of the Northern District of Alabama and ensuring that repeat offenders like Ziegler are removed from our communities."

"This sentence for a multi-convicted federal defendant found with firearms and drugs is a reminder that repetitive criminal conduct carries serious consequences," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy Peoples.

"The details in this case are particularly alarming - a violent felon, armed with stolen firearms and a machinegun, and distributing narcotics at a local motel," said ATF Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet. "This combination of criminal activity represents a huge concern for public safety. The ATF will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and charge individuals such as Ziegler who make our neighborhoods unsafe."

During the week of August 6, 2024, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Birmingham Police Department received a tip from Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama related to Ziegler possessing firearms and selling drugs at a motel in Birmingham. On August 15, 2024, ATF located Ziegler at the Budgetel Inn and Suites in Fairfield. Officers recovered from Ziegler's hotel room a Shadow Systems MR920 9mm pistol with a green dot sight, an extended magazine, marijuana, and ammunition. The Shadow Systems 9mm pistol and several other guns had been reported stolen a week earlier from a vehicle in Tuscaloosa. The next day, hotel staff found a backpack in the laundry room and reported the discovery to law enforcement. From the backpack, officers recovered a Glock 9mm pistol that had been converted to a machinegun using a machinegun-conversion device, commonly referred to as a "Glock switch," two 50-round drum magazines, a regular magazine, 28 grams of methamphetamine, 6 grams of fentanyl, alprazolam, digital scales, and cash.

At the time of the incident, Ziegler had one arrest warrant with the Irondale Police Department and nine warrants with the Birmingham Police Department.

In 2018, Ziegler was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama for being a felon in possession of a firearm. In 2019, he was sentenced to 70 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release. Ziegler was released from federal prison in January 2022. Ziegler violated his supervised release after he failed to report to his United States Probation Officer for four months and after he was arrested for Domestic Violence Assault. His supervised release was revoked in 2023, and he served 15 more months in federal prison for the revocation. He was released in January 2024.

The ATF investigated the case along with the Birmingham Police Department and Irondale Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristy M. Peoples and Ryan S. Rummage prosecuted the case.