NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FEDERAL LAWYERS
Can you go to prison for machine gun
|Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 40 years of combined experience handling federal firearms cases that other attorneys won’t touch. You’ve probably heard about some of our high-profile work – Todd represented Anna Delvey in the case that became a Netflix series, handled the Ghislaine Maxwell juror misconduct matter, and we’ve been featured in the New York Post, Bloomberg, and Newsweek for cases others said were unwinnable.
If you’re reading this, you or someone you care about is facing machine gun charges. The answer is yes – prison is not just possible, it’s likely. Federal prosecutors don’t play games with National Firearms Act violations, and judges have almost no discretion when mandatory minimums apply.
This article breaks down what you’re actually facing – the statutes, the real sentences defendants are getting in 2025, and why federal machine gun cases are different from every other gun charge you’ve heard about.
The Basic Federal Prison Exposure
Possessing an unregistered machine gun violates 26 U.S.C. § 5861. The penalty under 26 U.S.C. § 5871 is up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. That’s the baseline – just for having the thing.
Ten years doesn’t sound real until you’re sitting in MDC Brooklyn waiting for sentencing. Federal prison, that’s different from county jail, your sentence gets calculated under the guidelines and judges follow them most of the time even after Booker made them advisory.
Most people don’t just possess a machine gun in their living room doing nothing else. You get caught during a traffic stop, during a drug investigation, after using it somewhere. That’s when the penalties multiply.
Mandatory Minimums That Destroy Your Life
If you possess a machine gun during a drug trafficking crime or crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) kicks in with a 30-year mandatory minimum. Thirty years – not up to, not around, exactly 30 years minimum that must run consecutive to whatever else you’re sentenced to.
Federal judges hate these mandatory minimums, they’ll tell you that at sentencing, but they have no choice. The statute says “shall” not “may.” I’ve watched judges apologize to defendants before sending them away for three decades because their hands are tied.
A second 924(c) conviction gets you 25 years to life. That’s if you had a prior conviction and you do it again, or if you possessed guns during multiple incidents in the same case – prosecutors stack these charges and the mandatory minimums add up consecutively. We represented clients looking at 55 years mandatory before we negotiated down the number of counts.
What Counts as a Machine Gun in 2025
You might think you don’t have a machine gun. You’d be wrong if you’ve got a Glock switch, an auto sear, or any conversion device that makes a semiautomatic fire automatically. ATF calls these machinegun conversion devices, MCDs for short, and the 2025 sentencing guidelines amendments make crystal clear that these devices are machine guns for sentencing purposes.
The government has been cracking down hard. Between 2017 and 2021, ATF reported a 570% increase in seizures of Glock switches and conversion devices. In 2025, every federal district is prosecuting these cases.
The new guidelines add a 2-level enhancement if you possessed four or more conversion devices or transferred even one. Possess 30 or more? That’s a 4-level enhancement. Each level equals months or years depending on your criminal history category – this isn’t theoretical, it’s how your actual sentence gets calculated.
Real Sentences From 2025 Cases
Let’s talk about what’s actually happening in courtrooms right now. In March 2025, Ty’nell Jimmerson got 32 months in Omaha for possessing a Glock with a switch. No other charges, just the machine gun – 32 months in federal prison.
Derkwon Johnson in D.C. got 57 months in June 2025 for being a felon in possession of a Glock with a conversion device. He had prior felonies, that bumped his criminal history category, suddenly he’s looking at almost five years.
An Indianapolis defendant got 175 months – that’s over 14 years – for machine gun possession combined with a mail theft scheme in July 2025. Stack charges together and the guidelines produce sentences that might as well be life for a young person.
U.S. Attorney’s offices in Eastern North Carolina warned publicly that recent defendants in machine gun cases received sentences between seven and thirteen years. That’s the range you’re looking at if you go to trial and lose, or if your criminal history puts you in Category III or higher.
Why Federal Prosecutors Won’t Back Down
State gun cases sometimes get pled down to lesser charges. Federal prosecutors on machine gun charges? They don’t negotiate the same way. The U.S. Attorney’s Office views NFA violations as serious threats to public safety, and when ATF brings a machine gun case the prosecutor has already decided this defendant is going to prison.
Your best outcome usually involves pleading to the possession charge and avoiding the 924(c) mandatory minimum. That takes serious negotiation and an attorney who knows which Assistant U.S. Attorney will listen and which one won’t.
Your Defense Options Are Narrow But Critical
Some cases turn on whether the device actually meets the NFA definition of a machine gun. If the conversion device was installed incorrectly or the weapon can’t actually fire automatically, that’s a complete defense – but you need an expert to examine it and testify.
Other times the fight is about knowledge. Did you know the device was installed? For Glock switches that can be added without the owner realizing it – that’s rare but it’s a defense worth exploring if the facts support it.
Sentencing variances matter. Even with the guidelines calculation, judges can vary downward if there are compelling reasons. We’ve won variances based on age, lack of violence in the defendant’s history, family circumstances – but you need to build that record early, not the week before sentencing.
Cooperation under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) or a 5K1.1 motion can get you below mandatory minimums, but only if the government files the motion. That means providing substantial assistance – real information about suppliers, other crimes, people higher up the chain. It’s not for everyone and it’s dangerous, but when you’re facing 30 years it’s worth discussing.
What You Need to Do Right Now
If you’ve been arrested for machine gun possession, stop talking to anyone except your attorney. Federal agents are recording everything – your calls from jail, your conversations with cellmates, your social media posts.
Get a lawyer who handles federal firearms cases regularly, someone who knows the AUSAs in your district and has tried 924(c) cases. This isn’t the time for a state court attorney who’s never worked in federal court.
At Spodek Law Group, our attorneys include former federal prosecutors who understand how the government builds these cases. We’ve handled hundreds of federal firearms matters – we know which defenses work and which ones waste time. You can reach us 24/7.
You will go to prison unless your attorney finds a way to win the case or negotiate a resolution that avoids the worst outcomes. That’s the reality of federal firearms prosecutions in 2025 – and it’s why having the right defense team matters more than anything else right now.