KANSAS CITY, MO – Another piece of the city’s gun-running puzzle fell into place this week with the sentencing of Davorian M. Fleming, 21, to 37 months in federal prison. Fleming, of Kansas City, Missouri, admitted to possessing and transferring machineguns, specifically illegal ‘switches’ that turn ordinary firearms into fully automatic weapons. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips on September 9, 2025, sends a message – though whether it’s enough remains to be seen.
The case, built by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), revealed Fleming wasn’t operating alone. He pleaded guilty on April 3, 2025, and confessed to not only possessing the illegal devices but actively assisting his co-defendants in distributing them. He knew what he was dealing with, admitting the ‘switches’ qualified as machineguns under federal law – Title 26, United States Code, Section 5845(b). These aren’t modifications for hobbyists; they’re tools that escalate firepower and fuel street violence.
Fleming’s network is slowly being unraveled. K’Orion A. Duff, 23, also of Kansas City, already received a 15-month sentence for his role in the distribution scheme. Two additional co-defendants are still awaiting their day in court, suggesting a wider operation than initially suspected. The ATF is likely digging deeper, tracing the flow of these illegal devices and identifying anyone else involved in getting them into the hands of criminals.
Federal law is clear: possessing or transferring a machinegun is illegal, and that definition explicitly includes these conversion devices. These “switches” allow a semi-automatic firearm to rapidly fire like a fully automatic weapon, dramatically increasing the potential for lethal harm. They’re cheap, easily accessible, and increasingly common in crimes across the nation, turning regular guns into instruments of mass destruction.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh Ragner prosecuted the case, meticulously building a case against Fleming and his associates. This conviction is being touted as a win for Operation Take Back America, a broad federal initiative aiming to dismantle cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime. But Operation Take Back America feels more like a slogan than a solution when firearms continue to flood our streets.
While Fleming’s 37-month sentence offers a temporary reprieve, it doesn’t address the underlying issue: the relentless flow of illegal firearms into Kansas City. Until the source of these weapons is cut off, and the demand is addressed, cases like Fleming’s will continue to clog the courts and stain the streets with violence. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case, and others like it, exposing the rot at the heart of the city’s criminal underworld.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Organized Crime|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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