Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – After a three-day trial, Gregory Williams, 29, of Pensacola, was convicted this week of 19 counts of firearm-related offenses, including possession of a machinegun, possession of an unregistered machinegun, and false statement to a firearm dealer.  The verdict was announced by Christopher P. Canova, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

 

At trial, the government presented evidence that Williams knowingly sold dozens of auto sear parts to undercover law enforcement officers.  Auto sears are conversion parts designed to modify semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic firearms.  Auto sears are defined under federal law as machineguns.  Williams never registered them in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law.

 

On nine occasions in 2016, Williams communicated with the undercover officers via text message and then shipped the firearms or met the officers in person.  When law enforcement officers searched Williams’s residence, they seized an additional auto sear.

 

Williams faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on each count.  He is currently being detained at the Santa Rosa County Jail.  The sentencing hearing will take place at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola on a date to be determined by the court.

 

This case resulted from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Sacramento, California, and Pensacola, Florida, and the ATF Gun Crime Response Team.  Assistant United States Attorney Edwin Knight prosecuted the case.

 

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.  For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.