Houston-area man sentenced to 10 years in prison for selling 'ghost guns' and conversion devices

A Pasadena, Texas, man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after building an illegal business based in part on “ghost guns,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. He used Instagram to sell some of his products, authorities said.

Pasadena is located about 22.5 kilometers southeast of Houston.

Austin Shofner, 28, pleaded guilty on May 23 to unlawful sale of weapons and possession of a machine gun, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alamdar S. Hamdani said in the news release. Shofner admitted to selling several privately manufactured weapons and machine gun conversion devices.

“Austin Shofner wanted to build his illegal gun business and supply deadly machine guns, devices that converted handguns into machine guns, automatic rifles and silencers to anyone who would pay,” Hamdani said. “He had big dreams until he encountered an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Entrepreneurs are an important part of the American fabric, but not Austin Shofner's kind. Instead of counting his profits, Shofner will be counting the days, the thousands of days he will spend in a federal prison.”

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. sentenced Shofner to 10 years in prison for possession and transfer of a submachine gun and five years for the illegal sale of a firearm. The sentences will be served concurrently. After his release, he will be on probation for three years. He was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

“The commercial sale of firearms without a proper license is a violation of the law that ATF will continue to aggressively investigate,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel said in the press release.

Starting in January, Shofner sold several privately manufactured firearms with no markings or serial numbers, commonly known as “ghost guns.” He also used Instagram to sell machine gun conversion devices, known as switches, and weapon silencers to undercover agents at several locations in the Houston area.

During one transaction, Shofner referred to a silencer he was selling as “illegal as (expletive).”

He also said that the sale of firearms and ignition switches was his main source of income and explained his plans to expand his weapons production.

On March 7, authorities executed a search warrant at Shofner's Pasadena home. They found a Glock pistol, a pistol frame, an assault pistol and a silencer. They also seized five machine gun conversion devices, two silencers and five ghost guns, including a machine gun and a short-barreled rifle.

The switches are about 2.5 centimeters long and can be made of metal or plastic and printed on commercially available 3D printers, the authorities said.

The devices typically slide into the grip of a weapon and allow the shooter to fire in fully automatic mode, firing dozens of shots with a single trigger pull. Traditional semi-automatic firearms require a separate trigger to be pulled for each shot.

Shofner will remain in custody until he is transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.

The ATF investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black.