MOBILE, Ala. – A New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown Mobile turned deadly when 23-year-old Thomas Earl Thomas, Jr. unleashed a fully automatic weapon into a crowd of revelers, leaving one person dead and eight others seriously wounded. Thomas was sentenced to the maximum 120 months – ten years – in federal prison on Monday, September 18, 2023, for possessing and discharging the illegal machinegun.
The December 31, 2022, shooting unfolded on Dauphin Street, the heart of Mobile’s New Year’s Eve festivities. According to court documents, Thomas fired a Glock .40 caliber pistol modified with a “Glock switch” – a device that converts a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic machinegun – and an extended magazine. Surveillance footage clearly showed Thomas firing multiple rounds, the chaos resulting in a scene of carnage that overwhelmed first responders. Victims ranged in age from 17 to 57.
Mobile police quickly descended on the scene, finding 22 spent .40 caliber shell casings, four damaged bullets, three jacket fragments, and two lead fragments. Detectives secured two recorded interviews with Thomas, where he initially lied about both possessing and firing the weapon. However, investigators uncovered evidence from Thomas’s cell phone linking him to the purchase of the Glock at a Mobile gun show on December 10, 2022. Thomas later admitted he knew the gun had been illegally modified.
ATF experts confirmed the weapon, when equipped with the illegal conversion device, functioned as a machinegun, capable of firing multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger. Both the firearm and the “Glock switch” are prohibited under federal law. U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello emphasized the severity of the crime, stating that Thomas’s “wanton” act of shooting into a crowd was made even more dangerous by the use of an illegal machinegun.
“Citizens should be able to attend celebratory events without the fear…of losing their lives,” said Marcus Watson, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Nashville Field Division. In addition to the ten-year prison sentence handed down by Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock, Thomas will serve a three-year term of supervised release. The judge ordered Thomas to receive substance abuse and mental health treatment during his supervised release, and ordered forfeiture of the illegal weapon. A fine was not imposed, but Thomas was assessed $100 in special assessments.
Thomas also faces additional, pending charges in Mobile County District Court related to the shooting. The federal case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama. This case underscores the persistent threat posed by illegally modified firearms and the ongoing efforts of federal and local law enforcement to remove them from the streets and bring perpetrators to justice. The investigation remains ongoing regarding potential accomplices or sources of the illegal modification device.
Related Federal Cases
- Austin Jaden Jones, Machinegun Possession, Mobile AL, 2023 · Alabama
- National Shooting Sports Foundation, Gun Industry Liability Challen… · Alabama
- National Shooting Sports Foundation v. James, Firearms Accountabili… · Alabama
- Johnathan Earl Chappell, Gun Possession by Felon, AL 2020 · Alabama
- Boston Man Sentenced for Trafficking Machinegun Conversion Devices · Alabama
Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
WeaponsWeaponsWeaponsWeapons