Waynesville, N.C. Man Is Sentenced For Possession Of Illegal Machineguns

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Jacob Ryan McClure, 25, of Waynesville, N.C. was sentenced to 33 months in prison today followed by three years of supervised released for possession of machineguns, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Sheriff William Wilke of the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to documents filed with the court and today’s sentencing proceedings, on July 6, 2022, deputies with the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office stopped McClure’s vehicle for a traffic violation. Over the course of the traffic stop, law enforcement found in McClure’s vehicle 97 illegal conversion devices, commonly known as “Glock switches,” which are used to convert firearms into machineguns. Law enforcement also seized four P80 pistols, which are privately manufactured firearms referred to as “Ghost guns,” that had been converted into machineguns with illegal Glock switches. Law enforcement also recovered a conventional Glock firearm that also had a Glock switch installed, an unregistered short-barreled 9mm rifle, 10 unregistered firearm silencers, and $3,000 in cash. 

According to court records, prior to the incident in Haywood County, in August 2021, McClure was arrested in Tennessee after law enforcement seized from McClure’s vehicle and rental cabin several firearms, including converted machineguns, an unregistered silencer, narcotics, and over $10,000 in cash. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Tennessee brought federal charges against McClure in connection with this offense. Those charges were later transferred to the U.S. District Court in the Western District of North Carolina.

On March 3, 2023, McClure pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of machineguns in connection with both federal cases. McClure remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF, the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office, and the Dover, Tennessee, Police Department for conducting investigations which led to today’s sentence.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville handled the prosecution. U.S. Attorney King also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee for their coordination and assistance.