Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man has been found guilty by a federal jury of possession of a machinegun and illegal possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

Following a four-day trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank, Marques Dwell Armstrong Jr, 28, was convicted on one count of possession of a machinegun and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

According to evidence presented at trial and court documents, on October 12, 2021, Armstrong was found in possession of a 9mm-caliber Glock pistol, with an attached loaded high-capacity magazine and equipped with a device commonly known as a “switch” or “auto sear,” enabling it to be fired as a fully automatic machinegun. Because Armstrong has previous federal and state felony convictions, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any time.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Bejar and Albania Concepcion tried the case.