Alex City man sentenced to over eight years in prison for unlawfully possessing a machinegun

Nicole Sanders
·1 min read
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ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (WRBL) — An Alex City man was sentenced to over eight years behind bars after he altered a handgun to function as a machinegun, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.

Alan Lyrenski Sandlin, 23, was sentenced to 99 months in prison on Tuesday, February 20 after having pled guilty to “possessing a handgun converted to function as fully automatic by a machinegun conversion device” back in October.

Court records show law enforcement agents carried out a narcotics investigation at a residence in April of 2023. Agents searched the home to find a handgun with a machinegun conversion device, also known as a switch or an auto sear.

These devices are installed on firearms to allow them to work as an automatic weapon able to fire up to 20 rounds per second. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says these devices can pose a significant threat due to the rapid rate of fire.

Possession of a conversion device is considered to be possession of a machine gun under a federal statute, making these devices illegal.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force investigated this case, with assistance from the Alexander City Police Department, the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Coosa County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Brandon W. Bates prosecuted the case.

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