Rockford man sentenced to more than 2 years in federal prison for illegally selling handgun and “machine gun” conversion devices (DOJ)

ROCKFORD - A Rockford man has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for illegally selling a handgun and "machine gun" conversion devices to a convicted felon.

In the spring and summer of 2024, BRIAN RODRIGUEZ sold a handgun, ammunition, and components designed to be assembled into machine gun conversion devices, also known as "Glock switches." When attached to a firearm, a switch makes the gun capable of firing in fully automatic mode.

Rodriguez, 24, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of knowingly possessing and transferring a machine gun. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins sentenced Rodriguez to 27 months in federal prison.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"The risk of danger to the community when convicted felons possess firearms, especially machine guns, is serious," Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor N. Burnett argued in the government's sentencing memorandum. "A criminal with a converted Glock handgun can more easily inflict damage on an individual or group of individuals, and can easily hit unintended targets as well, given the automatic firing and the difficulty of controlling the multiple rounds being expelled in short bursts by the handgun."

Updated September 28, 2026

Firearms Offenses

Violent Crime

Components

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

USAO - Illinois, Northern