Possession of an unregistered machine gun is a federal felony punishable by up to ten years in prison, so I was more than a little surprised to see the light sentence handed down to a mother and son in Albuquerque, New Mexico who were accused of selling 3D-printed switches that can illegally convert semi-automatic firearms into full-auto weapons.
The U.S. Attorney in New Mexico says that in February of this year, 21-year-old offered to sell machinge gun conversion devices on his Instagram account. A detective spotted the ad and reached to Jasso, posing as an interested buyer. On February 7, according to prosecutors, Jasso and his 43-year-old mother Rachel met with the detective at an Albuquerque park, where the younger Jasso showed the detective how to use the conversion device.
Later that day, at a second meeting at Buffalo Wild Wings, Joe Jasso delivered an AR auto sear to the detective, and both Joe and Rachael Jasso confirmed they could make additional devices.
On February 16, 2023, officers executed a search warrant at the Jasso residence in Northeast Albuquerque, where they found approximately ten firearms, five machine gun conversion devices, large quantities of ammunition, and a 3D printer used to manufacture the devices. Joe Jasso admitted to using Instagram to sell the switches and acknowledged modifying firearms, while neither Joe nor Rachael Jasso had the required federal licenses to possess or manufacture machine guns or conversion devices.
The Jassos were caught red-handed engaging in activity that we’re told is a major threat to public safety. The five machine gun conversion devices could have resulted in a fifty-year sentence for mother and son, or at least a ten-year sentence if they were able to serve their sentences concurrently.
Instead, though, the Jassos pled guilty to engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license and possession of a machine gun conversion device and walked away with a relatively light sentence. Joe Jasso was given 33 months in federal prison, while Rachel received a 30-month sentence.
In a press release touting their incarceration, the Department of Justice acknowledged that “possession, manufacture, and sale of these devices without proper licensing is a federal offense carrying severe penalties, including up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.”
The DOJ went on to say the “proliferation of these devices poses an immediate and critical threat to public safety”, and that the “dramatic increase in illegal automatic weapons puts both civilians and law enforcement at extreme risk”. If that is the case, then why did the mother and son who were running an illicit operation to turn legal guns into illegal machine guns get such a soft sentence?
Maybe the U.S. Attorney thought it was better to secure a guilty plea than run the risk of an acquittal by taking the case to trial. Given the evidence against the Jassos, though, I’d say the DOJ had a pretty strong case. Joe Jasso was advertising the auto sears on social media, so it’s not like the government entrapped him or enticed him to make one of the devices. The government certainly didn’t entice his mom to take part in the scheme.
If the DOJ was hoping to send a message with their press release on the Jassos guilty plea, I think it was successful. But the message the agency delivered is that making and selling machine gun conversion devices won’t land you in prison for a decade or more, and I doubt that’s what the DOJ was going for.
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