Alonzo Clark Nichols, Possession of Unregistered Machine Gun, West Virginia 2019

A Charleston federal court was the scene of a guilty plea by a local man accused of possessing an unregistered machine gun. Alonzo Clark Nichols, 38, entered a guilty plea to possession of an unregistered machine gun.

Nichols, a federally licensed firearms dealer operating 5 Star Pawn on Elizabeth Pike in Mineral Wells, gave a police officer a gun part called an auto sear designed to convert a pistol from semiautomatic to fully automatic. This occurred on January 4, 2019. He later sold another auto sear to the officer on January 8, 2019. The next day, January 11, 2019, PNTF and ATF agents executed a search warrant at 5 Star Pawn where they seized additional auto sears and several rounds of 25mm high explosive incendiary tracers used by the United States military.

Nichols did not have authority to possess or sell machineguns, machinegun parts, or other National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons. He faces up to ten years in federal prison when he is sentenced on September 25, 2019.

United States Attorney Mike Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force (PNTF) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

“This is an egregious case,” said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “Firearms dealers are held to a common standard of complying with federal laws. In the wrong hands, the modified firearm could’ve been the instrument of the next terrible disaster. We will not tolerate such disregard for laws that are intended to protect law enforcement and the public.”

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua C. Hanks is handling the prosecution. Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the plea hearing.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the government’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/wood-county-man-pleads-guilty-federal-gun-charge-0