A Pulaski County man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 months in federal prison for possession of a machine gun in a case that illustrates federal prosecutors' high priority on machine-gun possession cases.
James Allen Jeffers, 22, of North Little Rock, was arrested by North Little Rock police shortly before midnight on July 18, 2021, following a chase on Pike Avenue that reached speeds of 102 miles per hour and ended in a crash near Pike Avenue and Riverfront Drive in North Little Rock. Jeffers was indicted by a federal grand jury the following October and he pleaded guilty to the charge on April 14 before U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky.
According to a summary of facts contained in Jeffers' plea agreement, North Little Rock police attempted to stop a white Chrysler 300 because of an expired license plate and gave chase when the driver attempted to flee south on Pike Avenue. The summary said that as the car entered the roundabout at Pike Avenue and Riverside Drive, Jeffers lost control of the vehicle, struck another vehicle and then crashed into a tree.
At that point, the summary said, Jeffers got out of the car and surrendered to police.
A search of the vehicle turned up a Glock Model 19 Generation 5 9mm pistol that was equipped with an automatic fire conversion device known as a "Glock switch." The gun, which was found on the driver's side floorboard, also had a loaded 17-round magazine.
The purpose of the Glock switch is to convert the pistol to fully automatic-fire.
In addition, police found an expended 9mm cartridge, a live 9mm cartridge, an empty, 24-capacity extended magazine, and a plastic prescription bottle with Jeffers' name on it that contained a quantity of marijuana.
According to the summary, Jeffers admitted that he was driving the vehicle and that the pistol belonged to him. He told police he purchased the pistol from a store in Maumelle about three months after his 21st birthday. He said he bought the Glock switch about two weeks before the stop for $200 from an unknown person who he said installed the switch for him. He told police he fled because he knew the Glock switch was installed on the pistol and that it was illegal.
In addition to the 30-month prison term, Rudofsky ordered Jeffers, who has no prior criminal history, to serve three years on supervised release after he leaves prison.
Noting the high priority placed on prosecuting machine gun possession cases in Arkansas, U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ross said his office is seeking prison terms for anyone arrested for illegal possession of an automatic weapon or conversion device, regardless of prior criminal history. He said his office has been actively engaged in taking over the prosecution of such cases from local authorities whenever possible to take advantage of strict federal laws regulating automatic weapons.
Machine guns and machine-gun parts have been tightly regulated by the U.S. government since passage of the National Firearms Act of 1934, which imposed a special tax on machine guns, short-barrel rifles and shotguns, as well as mufflers and silencers, and required that they be registered. In 1986, the Firearms Owners Protection Act banned the civilian possession and transfer of machine guns manufactured after May 19, 1986.
"We will pursue a Glock switch case regardless of the defendant's age or lack of criminal history," Ross said. "Young or old, felon or not, any person who possesses a Glock switch should be prepared to face federal prosecution."