INDIANAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Justice has sentenced Alexander Clark, 28, of Franklin, to two years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to making a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession of a machine gun.
According to court documents, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began to investigate Clark based on occasions in which he sold privately made firearms. Over one month, Clark was observed selling five Glock-style pistols that were made with the use of a 3-D printer for the frames, a 3-D printed AR-15 rifle lower receiver, and two machine-gun conversion devices.
Machine-gun conversion devices, sometimes called “Glock switches” or “auto-sears,” are devices that convert ordinary semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns. Machine-gun conversion devices are themselves considered machineguns under federal law, even when not installed, and are illegal to possess or sell in almost all cases.
On August 22., 2022, ATF agents searched Clark’s home and located multiple firearms, machine guns, silencers, firearm accessories, and a 3-D printer with other electronic devices in aid of 3-D printing.
In total, Clark possessed seven machine guns, 27 machine-gun conversion devices, and seven silencers, none of which were legally registered.
“Machine-gun conversion devices are an urgent public safety challenge—an ordinary pistol equipped with a conversion device and an extended magazine can fire 31 rounds in just two seconds,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Criminals like this defendant exploit modern technology to illegally manufacture deadly weapons and illegally arm others, including felons and juveniles.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. Chief Judge Pratt also ordered that Clark be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison.
