A Charlotte gun trafficker who sold pistols, meth and a Glock converted to fire like a machinegun is headed to federal prison for more than eight years, and he will be kicked out of the country when he gets out, according to prosecutors.
Michael Naun Antunez Vasquez, 22, a Honduran national prosecutors say was in the United States illegally, was sentenced Thursday to 101 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to trafficking firearms and drugs. Authorities said the case centered on the sale of multiple pistols, including a handgun converted into a machinegun, along with roughly 28.7 grams of methamphetamine. After serving his time, Vasquez will be removed from the United States and barred from returning, officials said.
Sentence and undercover sales
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, Vasquez pleaded guilty to trafficking in firearms, possession and transfer of a machinegun, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. A federal judge sentenced him to 101 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Court documents describe a series of undercover buys in July and August 2024. On July 9, 2024, investigators say Vasquez sold an undercover officer a Romarm/Cugir pistol. Nine days later, on July 18, 2024, he allegedly delivered a Glock Model 30 and a Glock Model 19 that had been assembled from different parts.
The investigation continued into August. On Aug. 1, 2024, an ATF agent bought two more firearms from Vasquez, including a Glock that had been converted to function as a machinegun, according to the filings. Prosecutors say court records also tie a machinegun conversion device and controlled substances to these transactions.
Union County interdiction and seizure
The planned resale run was cut short on the road.
The Union County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies stopped a vehicle on the way to a weapons deal as part of a proactive traffic interdiction operation. During the stop, they used K-9 alerts and detectives to identify narcotics and guns.
Deputies seized a machinegun conversion device, multiple pistols, high-capacity magazines, ammunition and approximately 28.7 grams of methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s office. Multiple people in the vehicle were taken into custody at the scene and held on charges linked to the seizure.
Prosecutors' response
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson did not mince words about the outcome.
“Federal prison is the appropriate punishment when someone traffics guns and drugs and disregards laws and public safety,” Ferguson wrote in a post on X. His statement credited the ATF Charlotte Field Division and the Union County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case.
Prosecutors said Vasquez will remain in U.S. Marshals custody until the Bureau of Prisons designates a facility for him. After he serves his federal sentence, officials said, he faces removal from the United States.
Why conversion devices matter
Federal law and ATF guidance treat devices that turn semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic firearms, often called “Glock switches” or auto-sears, as machineguns. That means steep criminal penalties for anyone who possesses or transfers them, according to the ATF.
The agency has brought multiple cases where conversion devices were found alongside narcotics and high-capacity magazines, noting that the small pieces of metal or plastic can dramatically increase a shooter’s rate of fire. ATF officials say disrupting the flow of these devices, and the guns they modify, remains a priority for federal and local partners.
Local impact and prosecution
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case, which officials described as part of an ongoing push to crack down on illegal firearms trafficking in the region. Federal, state and local partners credited joint enforcement work with keeping the weapons and drugs from being resold beyond the Charlotte area.
Vasquez’s conviction follows a run of recent federal prosecutions aimed at dismantling operations that tie together guns, conversion devices and narcotics in and around Charlotte.
