A 20-year-old Kissimmee man, identified as Jamal Joseph Mala Leonardo, has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison for possessing, transferring machine guns, and dealing firearms without a valid license. As the U.S. Attorney's Office reported, U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton also ruled that Mala Leonardo is to forfeit the machinegun conversion devices confiscated during the investigation.
Court documents reveal that Leonardo pleaded guilty on May 20. The events leading up to this plea stem from meetings between January and February of the same year. Leonardo had met with an undercover law enforcement officer and proceeded to sell them 17 machinegun conversion devices, which can illegally modify firearms to operate as fully automatic weapons. During these transactions, Leonardo also sold two AR pistols, including one privately made. The undercover operations have evidenced Leonardo's dealings, with the specifics detailed in the Justice Department's press announcement.
After undercover deals, police searched Mala Leonardo’s home and found 25 more conversion devices in his bedroom. None were registered, and he didn't have a firearms dealer license. The case was closed with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, along with two Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Richard Varadan and Kara Wick.
