JACKSON, Miss. — A Mississippi man was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after illegally manufacturing machine guns, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
Kent Edward Newhouse, 41, manufactured firearms from April to July 2022, according to the Justice Department. In April of that year, a confidential informant told the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that the Jackson man was using 3D-printers to manufacture auto sears, which are firearm components designed to cause semi-automatic guns to function as fully automatic machine guns.
On July 13, 2022, Newhouse sold a confidential informant a firearm and several auto sears. A search warrant was executed one week later at Newhouse’s residence, where additional firearms and auto sears were located. Under federal law, auto sears are considered machine guns, the department said. Investigators also obtained videos of Newhouse operating fully functional machine guns.
Newhouse pleaded guilty on September 1, 2022, to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of engaging in business as a manufacturer of firearms.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a violent crime and gun violence reduction program, the department said.
Robert Rich, an attorney for Newhouse, declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
