Boston man sentenced to prison for illegally trafficking machine gun conversion devices
BOSTON (WWLP) – A Boston man was sentenced in federal court last Thursday for illegally trafficking a dozen machine gun conversion devices.
In February 2023, 26-year-old Elijah Navarro was arrested and charged alongside co-defendant 23-year-old Michael Wilkerson following an investigation into illegal firearm trafficking in the Boston area. Charging documents stated that in January 2023, Navarro planned to sell 12 machine gun conversion devices for $1,700.
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After communicating with the buyer, Navarro reportedly met with the individual twice at a predetermined location. On January 19, 2023, Navarro met with the buyer and sold two machine gun conversion devices for $400, and on January 25, 2023, he sold ten more devices for $1,300. The second transaction was conducted at Wilkerson's home.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Navarro and Wilkerson's residences in February 2023, and found multiple rounds of ammunition in Navarro's home. When searching Wilkerson's home, officers found two 3-D printers, 3-D printing material, machine gun conversion devices, a ballistic vest, firearms, magazines, and ammunition.
Neither of the suspects had licenses to import, manufacture, deal, or possess firearms. In December 2023, Navarro pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business as a manufacturer or dealer in firearms and two counts of the transfer or possession of a machine gun.
Navarro was sentenced last Thursday to one year and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Wilkerson was sentenced in April 2024 to 20 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release.
WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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