NLR man pleads to owning machine gun
A North Little Rock man accused of possessing a converted machine gun that was found during a traffic stop pleaded guilty to one count of machine gun possession in federal court Wednesday and faces a possible 10-year maximum prison sentence.
Willie Smith, 22, was arrested Aug. 30, 2021, in North Little Rock after the vehicle he was riding in was stopped for a traffic violation and police discovered under the front passenger seat a Glock Model 19 9mm handgun fitted with a “Glock switch” that enabled the pistol to operate as a fully automatic firearm.
Smith was originally scheduled for a plea hearing a month ago, on April 25, but the hearing was cancelled after he tested presumptively positive for marijuana use and he was ordered taken into custody by U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Eldridge said that on the date he was arrested, Smith was riding in a black Dodge Charger driven by another person that was pulled over by North Little Rock police officer James Edwards for having an obstructed license plate and driving left of center.
“Officer Edwards recognized the passenger as Willie Smith,” Eldridge said. “Upon making contact with the occupants of the vehicle, officers asked them to exit due to the strong odor of marijuana. Officer Edwards also noticed Smith to be sweating profusely and to have labored breathing.”
As he searched the vehicle, Eldridge said, Edwards discovered the Glock pistol hidden underneath the front passenger seat that had been occupied by Smith.
“There was a round in the chamber and an extended magazine that had 26 rounds,” she said. “Additionally, a machine gun conversion device commonly known as a Glock switch had been added to the gun. This device is capable of converting the weapon into a machine gun that can shoot more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger. The gun belonged to Smith and he knew the Glock switch would convert the firearm into a machine gun.”
Turning his attention to Smith, Rudofsky asked if he had listened carefully to Eldridge’s statement of the plea facts, to which Smith said he had.
“Do you agree that everything Ms. Eldridge said is 100% accurate?” Rudofsky asked. “Are there any even small inaccuracies? If there are now is the time to tell me.”
Smith agreed the statement was accurate. Then, Rudofsky, as a preface to asking a few questions of his own, advised Smith to consult with his attorney, Latrece Gray with the Federal Public Defenders Office in Little Rock, before answering.
“You’ve agreed the gun was yours,” Rudofsky said. “Is that correct?”
Quickly, Smith answered, “yes.”
“Hold on,” Rudofsky said, holding up one hand, palm outward. “Make sure Ms. Gray is OK.”
Smith looked at Gray, who nodded silently at him. “Yes,” he repeated. “Did you know the machine gun conversion device was on the gun?” the judge asked.
“Yes,” answered Smith, after a quick glance toward Gray, who nodded her assent.
“With respect to Count 1 of this indictment,” Rudofsky asked, “how do you plead?” “Guilty,” Smith responded. “Is that because you are, in fact, guilty?” the judge asked. “Yes.”
After Gray asked Rudofsky to allow Smith to go free to await sentencing and hearing from Smith’s mother, the judge said he would give Gray another chance to argue for his release but that it would be a long shot.
“It’s very likely I’m not going to send him home today,” he said. “He’s now pled guilty to a very serious and dangerous crime. I really don’t know what you have a machine gun conversion device on your gun for except to hurt people. … I feel bad for you but I don’t think I’m going to send him home.”
Gray argued that, given Smith’s sparse criminal history, he would likely end up with a recommended guideline sentencing range of 18 to 24 months in prison, and said she intends to ask Rudofsky to consider a probationary sentence when the time comes.
“Whether he gets it is another issue,” she said.
Rudofsky cut in at that point to ask a question, which he said Gray might not know the answer to or might not be ready to address it, but which he said he had to ask anyway.
“What the heck was he doing with a machine gun conversion device?” he asked. “Is there any explanation that I should think about other than what we would all jump to as the normal explanation, which is if you have a machine gun conversion device you’re trying to make your gun dangerous because you’re going to use it.”
“We’re not ready to answer that yet,” Gray demurred.
Rudofsky denied Gray’s request, ordered Smith to be taken into custody to await sentencing and said he will set a sentencing date once the U.S. Probation Office has completed its pre-sentence investigation report, a process that normally takes between two and three months.