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Press Release

Mobile Man with Illegally Modified Machinegun Sentenced in Federal Court

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Alabama

MOBILE, AL – A  Mobile man was sentenced in federal court today on the charge of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, described as a Glock .40 caliber pistol loaded with a magazine containing eighteen rounds of .40 caliber ammunition modified with a machinegun-conversion device, which had not been registered to him as required by federal law.  Sidney Rashard Collins, 21, pled guilty to the charge in August of 2022.

According to court documents, Mobile police officers were on routine patrol on Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile on May 15, 2022, when they saw bouncers at a nightclub there searching patrons prior to their entry into the club.  They observed struggle when bouncers attempted to search Collins, and Collins fled the area, jumping a nearby gate.  Officer approached him, and Collins ran west on Dauphin Street, failing to stop in spite of officers’ commands to do so.  The officers chased Collins and observed him pull a firearm from his waistband that throw it into the intersection at Conception and Dauphin Streets while continuing to run.  Collins finally tripped and fell, and officers detained him.  They also recovered the gun he had thrown into the intersection.  The police observed that the firearm was a loaded Glock .40 caliber pistol, which had been modified by the addition of a machinegun-conversion device, commonly referred to as a “Glock chip” or a “Glock switch.”  This device enables a Glock pistol to shoot automatically, more than one shot, without manual reloading by a single function of the trigger.  This device is designed to convert a Glock-style firearm to fire automatically, effectively creating a machinegun   A firearm equipped with this device is regulated under federal law and must be registered to be possessed legally.  Collins’ device was not registered as required.  In a statement to police made after Collins was advised of his constitutional rights and agreed to waive his rights, Collins admitted that knew the manner in which the firearm operated with the device.

United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer imposed a sentence of 70 years in Collins’ case, to be followed by three years of supervised release to follow his imprisonment.  As conditions of supervision, Collins will undergo testing and treatment for drug and/or alcohol abuse, and he will be subject to a search of his person and premises upon reasonable suspicion.  No fine was imposed but the judge ordered that Collins pay $100 in special assessments.

Collins’ case was investigated by the Mobile Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michele O’Brien and Gloria Bedwell prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Updated April 28, 2023