Missourian sentenced on machine gun charge

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. last Wednesday sentenced a Dunklin County, Missouri man to two years in federal prison for selling a device that can convert a Glock pistol into a machine gun.

On Oct. 12, 2022, Cole Johnathan Campbell, now 22, of Kennett, Missouri, sold an auto sear, also known as a “Glock switch,” to a confidential informant working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The auto sear converts a semi-automatic Glock pistol into a fully automatic firearm.

Glock switches alone, even if not attached to a firearm, are defined as a machine gun under federal law.

Campbell said he had removed the device from his own gun, knew it worked and had a video of it in operation. He also offered to sell more of the devices, his plea agreement says.

Campbell pleaded guilty in March to one felony count of unlawfully transferring a machine gun.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.