KC Reporter

A Kansas City man has entered a guilty plea in federal court for his involvement in a conspiracy to traffic machine guns. Sheron Lamont Manning, 21, appeared before U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips on January 23 and admitted to charges of conspiracy to traffic firearms and illegal trafficking of a firearm converted into a machine gun.

Manning acknowledged his participation in distributing at least 22 firearms illegally between May 2022 and April 2023. Among the transactions, he sold a Glock .45-caliber pistol, altered into a machine gun, to an informant from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for $1,200 in November 2022. During this sale, Manning claimed he could provide more fully automatic firearms.

Further admissions by Manning include selling firearms to an informant who was legally prohibited from possessing them due to felony status. These sales involved various modified weapons such as an AR-15 style pistol with an obliterated serial number and multiple Glock pistols converted into machine guns.

Manning faces up to 30 years in federal prison without parole under federal statutes. However, the final sentence will be determined by the court after considering advisory sentencing guidelines and other factors following a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Trey Alford is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the ATF.

This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative that unites law enforcement at all levels with communities to combat violent crime and enhance neighborhood safety. The Department launched a strategy on May 26, 2021, aimed at reducing violent crime through trust-building within communities, supporting violence prevention organizations, setting strategic enforcement priorities, and evaluating outcomes.