Jason R. Coody, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
Jimmy Bender, a 19-year-old from Tallahassee, Florida, has been sentenced to two years in prison for possessing a machinegun. This sentencing follows his guilty plea and was announced by John P. Heekin, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
The case began when officers from the Tallahassee Police Department's Violent Crimes Response Team were patrolling southeast Tallahassee due to complaints about criminal activity. During their patrol, they stopped Bender for a traffic violation. Upon removing him from his vehicle, officers found a Glock .40 caliber handgun equipped with an extended magazine and a machinegun conversion device known as a "Glock switch." This device illegally allowed the firearm to fire multiple rounds with one trigger pull.
U.S. Attorney Heekin commented on the sentencing: “Thanks to the hard work of our brave state and federal law enforcement partners, our community can rest easy knowing this dangerous individual has been removed from our streets. Criminals considering carrying an illegally converted machinegun should know my office will aggressively prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
The conviction resulted from collaboration between the TPD Violent Crimes Response Team and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Welch prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is part of 94 offices that serve as principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. Public court documents are available online at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. More information about this office can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
