Source: Office of United States Attorneys
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to his role in a conspiracy to traffic machine guns.
Sheron Lamont Manning, 21, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on Thursday, Jan. 23, to conspiracy to traffic firearms and to illegally trafficking a firearm that had been converted into a machine gun.
By pleading guilty today, Manning admitted that he participated in a conspiracy that illegally distributed at least 22 firearms to other persons from May 24, 2022, to April 20, 2023. Manning also admitted that he sold a Glock .45-caliber pistol that had been converted into a machine gun to a confidential informant of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for $1,200 on Nov. 18, 2022. During the transaction, Manning stated he could get the informant more fully automatic firearms.
Manning also admitted to additional criminal conduct, including four instances in which he illegally sold firearms to a confidential informant who was a felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm. Those sales included an AR-15 style, multi-caliber pistol with an obliterated serial number that had been altered into a machine gun, two Glock .40-caliber pistols that had been altered into machine guns, and an AR-15 style, multi-caliber pistol.
Under federal statutes, Manning is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Project Safe Neighborhoods
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.