Edward Devon Gadson, a 27-year-old resident of Waldorf, Maryland, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for possessing 35 illegal machine gun conversion devices in Washington, D.C. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Gadson pleaded guilty on July 11 to charges of unlawful transfer and possession of a machine gun as well as aiding and abetting. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered that Gadson serve three years of supervised release.
The announcement was made jointly with Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Pamela A. Smith, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to court documents, MPD officers stopped Gadson on October 2, 2024, while he was driving a Dodge Durango with heavily tinted windows on Green Street SE in Anacostia around 5 p.m. Officers observed a clear plastic bag containing what appeared to be firearms accessories on the back passenger side floor of the vehicle. Upon inspection, they found dozens of machine gun conversion devices—often referred to as "switches"—which can convert pistols into automatic firearms. These devices were reportedly made using a 3-D printer and featured images associated with an internet meme called “Not ATF Guy.”
The case was investigated by both the Metropolitan Police Department and the ATF Washington Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John D. Crabb and Thomas Strong prosecuted the case.
