Felon Sentenced for Illegal Possession and Manufacture of Machine Guns and Silencers

 A 30-year-old Tulsa man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today for firearms charges, including illegally possessing and manufacturing machine guns and silencers, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Christopher Joseph Kiss to 37 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. On Jan. 13, 2020, Kiss pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, illegal possession of a machine gun, making unregistered machine guns and silencers, and possession of unregistered silencers.

“The availability of illegal guns all too often leads to violent crime. My office along with our partners at the ATF will continue to target illegal gun manufacturers like Christopher Kiss in order to keep these dangerous firearms off the streets,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

“Manufacture of unregistered NFA devices is illegal. Possession of unregistered NFA devices is illegal. Manufacture, transfer and possession of any firearm or ammunition by a previously convicted felon is illegal,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II. “Mr. Kiss is a trifecta in disregard of the law.”

In his plea agreement, Kiss, a felon, admitted that he possessed, manufactured, and modified multiple firearms. Kiss possessed a .25 auto caliber pistol and a container with a sampling of 95 pounds of ammunition. He also possessed a homemade Glock-style .22 caliber pistol equipped with a Glock switch that enabled the pistol to fire in fully-automatic mode. In addition, investigators discovered an AR-15 style short-barreled 9 mm rifle that Kiss modified to fire in fully-automatic mode. The defendant further illegally manufactured at least four silencers and possessed a total of 26 silencers. In his statement, Kiss agreed that he failed to properly register these machine guns and silencers in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Kiss will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark R. Morgan prosecuted the case.

The case was prosecuted as part of the Justice Department’s Project Guardian, a nationwide initiative leveraging critical law enforcement partnerships to enforce federal firearms laws. Project Guardian is the Department’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Project Guardian draws upon the Justice Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). This includes taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.