New Orleans Man Sentenced For Possession of a Machinegun

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that XAVION WATTS, age 22, formerly a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on March 12, 2025 by United States District Judge Lance M. Africk to the statutory maximum of 120 months imprisonment, after previously pleading guilty to Possession of a Machinegun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(o).  Judge Africk ordered WATTS placed on supervised release for three (3) years following his release from imprisonment and pay a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

Court documents reveal that NOPD officers were on patrol on October 29, 2022, in the French Quarter when they saw a firearm in WATTS‘s waistband as he walked down Bourbon Street.  As officers approached WATTS, he fled on foot but was caught and arrested shortly thereafter.  During the arrest, officers recovered a Glock Model 17, nine-millimeter handgun with a fully automatic switch and extended magazine, containing 21 rounds and one in the chamber, from WATTS.  The fully automatic switch converted the Glock into a fully automatic machine gun.

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.

Acting United States Attorney Simpson praised work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department in this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Mark A. Miller of the Narcotics Unit  handled the prosecution.