Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
A Louisiana licensed gun dealer will serve 15 weekends in jail for illegal possession of a machine gun and lying to federal agents.
A New Orleans federal judge sentenced Waylon Givens, 42, of Amite, Louisiana, on Wednesday for the charges he pled guilty to in December. His plea also included five years probation, a $5,000 fine, 100 hours community service and surrendering his federal firearms license.
According to court documents, Givens was tied to a ATF investigation in July 2014 of an Internet company based in Sweden, RH Custom, that sold components to modify firearms into National Firearms Act regulated items like machine guns and silencers.
The investigation revealed between June 2012 through August 2012, Givens ordered and received seven Lightning Links and four Glock Switches — both are components to provide a firearm with full-auto capabilities.
ATF interviewed Givens on July 11, 2014, about the parts — while Givens had an FFL, he was not licensed to sell NFA items — and advised he surrender them or face federal charges. But Givens told investigators he had already sold the parts and did not know the person or his whereabouts.
Following up on the investigation, investigators conducted a follow-up interview with Givens who reiterated he didn’t know where the buyer was and attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.
Investigating the matter further, ATF agents learned Givens sold the parts to friends who lived in the neighboring state of Mississippi. They were able to recover the parts and on May 7, 2015, searched Givens’ house, the location of his shop “Givens Firearms,” and found five Glock Switches and five Lightning Links.
Later that month, on May 29, 2015, he voluntarily relinquished to authorities parts for a suppressor kit he bought for a friend from RH Custom.
Some of these parts are designed to convert semi-automatic firearms to fully automatic firearms, in violation of the National Firearms Act.