Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Buffalo Man Charged with Possession of a Machinegun
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Jeffrey Parker, 33, of Buffalo, NY, was arrested and charged by complaint with unlawful possession of a machinegun, and unlawful possession of a firearm which is not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on September 6, 2018, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives received information from the New York State Police that Parker may have purchased a noncompliant AR-15 style rifle in North Carolina. That same day, an ATF special agent spoke with the defendant who voluntarily turned over eight firearms to the ATF. Six of them were recovered at a cousin’s house in Buffalo and the other two were recovered from Parker’s friend’s house.
While examining the rifles, the special agent noticed that one of the rifles might be a fully automatic machinegun. ATF records show that the defendant purchased this firearm on May 26, 2011, from Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) Craiglow’s Gun Shop, in West Seneca, NY. The special agent went to Craiglow’s Gun Shop and spoke to the owner who stated he did not believe that the gun was a fully automatic machinegun when he transferred it to Parker.
Law enforcement officers subsequently tested the rifle at a firearms and determined that the rifle functioned as a fully automatic machinegun. A records check also determined that the machinegun was not registered to the defendant.
The defendant made an initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder and was released.
The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan Benedict, and the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Edward Kennedy.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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