A Peoria man has been sentenced to 50 months in federal prison for possessing a handgun equipped with a ‘Glock Switch’ conversion device that enabled the gun to fire as a fully-automatic machinegun.
Anthony Q. Johnson, 19, of the 1100 block of North Flora Avenue, was sentenced on August 2, 2023, to 50 months in federal prison by Senior U.S. District Judge Joe B. McDade.
Johnson will serve a three-year term of supervised release upon completion of his prison term.
The government presented evidence that in January 2023 Johnson pulled a handgun from his waistband during an altercation with another person on North Flora Avenue in Peoria.
When the person fled from Johnson in a car, Johnson discharged the gun, causing one of the bullets to pass through the rear window and windshield of a mini-van parked nearby.
An eye-witness account and the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system both established that the gunfire rate was consistent with that of a fully-automatic weapon.
Police responded to the scene and located 13 spent shell casings from a .40 caliber weapon.
Johnson was identified as a suspect, and federal agents executed search warrants at two residences where he was known to stay.
Agents searching a Flora Avenue residence located a Glock Model 27 .40 caliber pistol loaded with 10 live rounds of ammunition.
The firearm was equipped with a ‘Glock Switch’, an aftermarket device converting the weapon into a machinegun.
Agents also located an AR-15, .223 caliber rifle loaded with 31 rounds of ammunition during the search, as well as a .22 caliber revolver.
In addition, an extended magazine with a capacity of 28 rounds (.40 caliber), a pistol magazine with a capacity of 14 rounds (.40 caliber), and a drum-style magazine with a capacity of 50 rounds, loaded with 44 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition were located and seized.
Additional boxes of .40 caliber ammunition were also found.
The Glock pistol was test-fired and functioned as fully automatic machinegun.
The casings matched those found at the shooting incident earlier in January 2023 and another shooting incident in August 2021.
Johnson was arrested on a federal complaint in January 2023 and a federal grand jury returned an indictment with the machinegun charge in February 2023.
He entered a guilty plea in March 2023 and has remained in the custody of the United States Marshals Service while his case has been pending.
The Glock Model 27 .40 caliber pistol has been forfeited.
The statutory penalties for possession of a machinegun are up to 10 years imprisonment, to be followed by up to three years of supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Peoria Area Federal Firearms Task Force (PAFF).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Hanna represented the government in the prosecution.
The case against Johnson is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence.
On May 26, 2021, the government launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Related Federal Cases
- Robert Anthony Haas, Threatening a Federal Official, Illinois 2024 · Illinois
- Teranee Millet, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Destructive Device, California 2023 · California
- James McNamara, Assaulting a Federal Officer, Illinois 2021 · District of Columbia
- Kevin James Lyons, Unlawfully Entering a Restricted Building, Illinois 2023 · Texas
- Javier Gonzalez-Valenzuela, Second-Degree Murder, Illinois 2021 · Illinois
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Violent CrimeViolent CrimeViolent CrimeViolent Crime