BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Graysville man has been charged with illegal possession of a machinegun, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Explosives, and Firearms Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.
Shannon Ray Bittle, 46, was charged on Wednesday in a federal criminal complaint with illegal possession of a machinegun. Federal agents arrested Bittle on February 16, 2022, in Hoover, Alabama.
According to the criminal complaint, on January 20, 2022, Bittle met an undercover agent in a Walmart parking lot where he possessed and transferred a machinegun, that is, an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15, chambered in .300 AAC Blackout. The undercover agent purchased the machinegun from Bittle.
The ATF investigated the case along with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittney Plyler is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.