A man who illegally possessed a 3D printed Glock switch designed to convert a handgun into an automatic weapon was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.
Jose Morales-Ramirez, age 20, from Marshalltown, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 20, 2022 guilty plea to illegal possession of a machine gun.
Evidence during the case at trial showed that police responded to Morales-Ramirez’s residence after receiving reports from neighbors regarding possible gun shots. During a search, police located a Glock conversion device designed and intended solely and exclusively for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun. The Glock conversion device, also known as a Glock switch, had been printed on a 3D printer.
Morales-Ramirez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Morales-Ramirez was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Morales-Ramirez was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Tama, Iowa, Police Department.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-CR-0056.
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