Fresno Resident Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing Firearm After Ordering Machine Gun Parts from China

FRESNO, Calif. — Eric Vang, 36, of Fresno, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, a Chinese distributer mailed a package to Vang that contained parts to convert a Glock handgun into a fully automatic machine gun. Following a search of Vang’s residence, federal agents found and seized several other firearms and several parts resembling silencers for those firearms. Vang is a previously convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing firearms.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Newman is prosecuting the case.

Vang is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on Jan. 27, 2020. Vang faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. To learn more about Project Safe Neighborhoods, go to www.justice.gov/psn.