Tulsa man pleads guilty to charges involving machine guns and silencers

TULSA, OK -- A Tulsa man with a felony criminal record pleaded guilty Monday to four firearms charges, including illegally possessing and manufacturing machine guns and silencers, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.

Christopher Joseph Kiss, 29, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, illegal possession of a machine gun, making unregistered machine guns and silencers, and possession of unregistered silencers. The case is being prosecuted as part of the Justice Department’s Project Guardian, a nationwide initiative leveraging critical law enforcement partnerships to enforce federal firearms laws. The initiative was announced by the Attorney General in November 2019.

“Firearms that have been illegally modified to fire in fully-automatic mode pose a serious risk to public safety,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “[Christopher Kiss] modified and possessed firearms, silencers, and nearly 100 pounds of ammunition, and in doing so threatened the safety of our community.”

In his plea agreement, Kiss, a felon, admitted that he possessed, manufactured, and modified multiple firearms. Kiss possessed a .25 auto caliber pistol and a container with a sampling of 95 pounds of ammunition. He also possessed a homemade Glock-style .22 caliber pistol equipped with a Glock switch that enabled the pistol to fire in fully-automatic mode.

In addition, investigators discovered an AR-15 style short-barreled 9 mm rifle that Kiss modified to fire in fully-automatic mode. The defendant further illegally manufactured at least four silencers and possessed a total of 26 silencers. In his statement, Kiss agreed that he failed to properly register these machine guns and silencers in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record

“Mr. Kiss is a convicted felon prohibited from manufacturing, possessing, transferring or shipping firearms and ammunition,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II. “His disregard of the Gun Control and National Firearms Acts impacts every community by placing firearms into commerce illegally, sidestepping required background checks and impeding law enforcement efforts to trace and investigate recovered firearms and devices.”