An Irving man was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison for possession of multiple unregistered machine gun conversion sears as well as numerous drug crimes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Ramon Navarro III, 23, pleaded guilty in March to four counts of an unregistered firearm and eight counts of distribution of controlled substances.  Because the government did not offer Mr. Navarro a plea deal, he pleaded open to the charges against him, with no assurances as to the term of imprisonment prosecutors would recommend to the judge. He was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Sam A Lindsay.

According to court documents, Mr. Navarro, who used the aka “Trae Alvarez,” admitted that he possessed four machine gun conversion sears, three-piece devices designed to convert semiautomatic weapons into machineguns, all lacking serial numbers and of unknown origin. He also possessed six Glock pistols, each with an incorporated conversion sear, transforming the firearms into machine guns in operating condition.

(Unlike semiautomatic firearms, machineguns – weapons that can shoot more than one shot, without manual reloading, by single function of the trigger – are generally unlawful for civilians under the National Firearms Act.)

None of the firearms were registered to Mr. Navarro in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, he admitted. He also admitted to trafficking in cocaine and heroin.

“This investigation is an example of ATF’s steadfast commitment to working with Dallas Police Department and all our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in combining resources to combat violent crime, disrupt firearms trafficking, and ultimately create safer communities,” stated Jamey VanVliet,  Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Dallas Field Division.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division and the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Requénez is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker.

This case was prosecuted under Project Guardian, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at reducing gun violence by enforcing federal firearm laws through coordination between the federal government and state and local law enforcement.