A Concord man who pleaded guilty in February to having a fully automatic machine gun while distributing large quantities of marijuana was sentenced this week to 15 years in prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Malik Lee Simpson, 23, was convicted of two counts of possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
On July 11, 2019, law enforcement officers saw Simpson “engaging in a hand-to-hand drug transaction,” Wednesday’s news release said. After learning Simpson had an active warrant for his arrest, police followed him into a residence and arrested him. The bag he had been carrying, according to the release, had more than 60 grams of marijuana and a Glock 22 handgun inside.
Two weeks later, after he had been released from jail, Simpson was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for having a brake light out, according to the release. Officers smelled marijuana and after searching the vehicle’s trunk, found a backpack belonging to Simpson with more than 40 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, and a Glock 19 handgun that was fitted with a machine gun conversion. Known as a “Glock switch,” the conversion makes the weapon fully automatic, the release states.
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“A Glock switch — even when not attached to a firearm — is classified as a machine gun under federal law. When attached, these devices convert a firearm to being a fully automatic machine gun, and those who possess them, especially in the context of drug trafficking, will be met with severe penalties,” United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh said in the release. “Possession of a fully automatic machine gun in the context of drug trafficking crime triggers a 30-year mandatory minimum term of incarceration. This defendant received a lesser sentence after fully accepting responsibility and preserving judicial and prosecutorial resources.”
In the news release, Lynchburg Police Chief Ryan Zuidema said the investigation was a joint effort between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Lynchburg Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Welsh prosecuted the case.
“Violent crime has no place in the Lynchburg community,” Zuidema said.