Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Gulfport, Miss. – Kevin Martin Gentry, 38, of Canton, Mississippi, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden to 23 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for unlawful possession of a firearm silencer not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

On October 9, 2019, in Long Beach, Mississippi, police responded to a report of an aggravated assault in progress at a local apartment. Officers made contact with the defendant, Kevin Martin Gentry, who was armed with a knife. Gentry was disarmed and detained. Further investigation revealed that Gentry had initiated the altercation by forcing himself into the apartment residence displaying a knife. Long Beach Police officers located Gentry’s vehicle parked near the crime scene, and detectives were granted a search warrant from Long Beach Municipal Court. During execution of the search warrant, police found a short-barreled rifle with a silencer.

ATF examined the recovered firearm and measured its barrel length and overall length. The measurements revealed a barrel length of approximately 7 ¾ inches and overall length of approximately 26 ¼ inches. Such a short-barreled rifle and silencer both would require federal registration. The ATF investigation revealed that the firearm was not manufactured in Mississippi, and neither the short-barreled rifle nor the silencer were registered as required in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Gentry admitted to sole possession of the short-barreled rifle and the silencer. He also admitted to making the silencer and to adapting the silencer and short-barreled rifle so that the silencer was threaded to fit onto the rifle.

Gentry was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 6, 2019 and pled guilty before Judge Ozerden on February 20, 2020.

U.S. Attorney Hurst commended the coordinated investigation by the ATF and the Long Beach Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris.

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