Sikeston Man Admits Illegally Selling Machine Gun, Other Firearms
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — A man from Sikeston, Missouri on Thursday admitted selling a machine gun and other firearms to an undercover federal agent.
Averyoun Quentez Lane, 18, admitted selling two Glock pistols on July 3, 2023, to an undercover special agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). One of the pistols was equipped with an aftermarket “switch” that converted it into a fully automatic weapon. The conversion device alone is defined as a machine gun under federal law. Lane told the agent that he knew what the device did and instructed the agent on how to operate it. Lane also offered the agent a semiautomatic pistol and a stolen .38-caliber revolver on July 11, 2023, the day after the revolver was stolen in Sikeston. Lane sold the revolver before the agent could buy it but did sell the agent an AR-15-style weapon that day. After his arrest on an unrelated matter on July 13, 2023, Lane admitted obtaining and selling firearms on a regular basis. He did not have the proper license to do so.
Lane pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one felony count of unlawfully transferring a machine gun and one felony count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms.
Lane is scheduled to be sentenced May 16. The machine gun charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine. The firearm dealing charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and the same fine.
The ATF and the Sikeston Department of Public Safety investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis is prosecuting the case.
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