Firearms Trafficking Ringleader Brought to Justice

Phillip Niles Martin, 68, of Oklahoma City, has pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking conspiracy and unlawful possession of a machinegun, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.

Martin’s guilty plea comes after a lengthy investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which revealed that he had been dealing firearms without a license at an Oklahoma City swap meet. The investigation also uncovered that Martin sold firearms at significantly inflated rates, approximately double the retail price, without completing the background checks required by law.

A search warrant executed at Martin’s residence in June 2022 resulted in the seizure of 194 firearms, a significant quantity of ammunition, approximately $469,520 in cash, and a machinegun conversion device, commonly known as a ‘switch.’ The device converts a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic machinegun, violating federal law.

According to the affidavit in a previously filed criminal complaint, Martin had previously been the subject of two previous ATF investigations for similar conduct. In 2013, Martin received a verbal warning for dealing firearms without a license, and in 2020, he acknowledged receipt of an ATF cease-and-desist letter after a firearm he had purchased was recovered at a crime scene in Mexico.

On February 16, 2024, Martin was charged by Information with conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms and with unlawful possession of a machinegun. Yesterday, Martin appeared before United States District Judge Jodi W. Dishman and pled guilty to both counts of the Information. In entering his plea, Martin specifically acknowledged that he knowingly conspired with others to traffic firearms and that he illegally possessed a machinegun conversion device.

Martin agreed to forfeit all 194 firearms, the ammunition, approximately $469,520 in cash, and the machinegun conversion device. At sentencing, Martin faces up to 25 years in federal prison and fines totaling up to $500,000. The sentencing hearing will take place in approximately 90 days.

This case 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, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. This case is also part of ‘Project Switch Off,’ the Western District of Oklahoma’s local implementation of PSN, which targets illegal machinegun conversion devices to address the significant danger these illegal devices present and to remove them from our streets.

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