A New Orleans man is headed to federal prison for 138 months after agents uncovered what they describe as an apartment-sized toolkit for converting regular firearms into illegal machine guns, complete with explosives and an industrial milling machine.
Prosecutors say Kody Severin, 28, pleaded guilty in December to an eight-count indictment that included possession of more than 100 machine-gun conversion devices, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, attempted obstruction of justice and receiving explosive materials. The haul also included completed silencers, ammunition and two explosive devices, items federal agents warned posed serious public-safety risks.
U.S. District Judge Barry W. Ashe handed down the 138-month sentence on March 26, along with supervised release and special assessment fees, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The office noted that while several counts run at the same time, the mandatory firearms term under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) must be served after the others, which is how the prison time stacks up. Prosecutors said the case was handled by the Eastern District’s General Crimes and Narcotics units as part of a broader violent-crime reduction push.
Search, seizure and arrest
Law enforcement obtained consent to search an apartment in the 1400 block of Milan Street on Dec. 12, 2022, and found what amounted to a compact weapons workshop, according to the ATF. Agents reported recovering multiple handguns, a privately made "ghost gun," upper receivers and roughly 100 machine-gun conversion devices, including drop-in auto sears and so-called "Glock switches." They also seized completed and unfinished silencers, an industrial milling machine, ammunition and two explosive devices.
Officers said they encountered Severin the next day. According to ATF accounts and court filings, he was taken into custody after allegedly tossing a revolver from a second-floor balcony in an apparent attempt to ditch the weapon.
Sentence breakdown
The written judgment spells out how the sentence comes together, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Louisiana said. Severin received 60 months for the marijuana count, another 60 months for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime and 78 months on the remaining counts. By law, the 924(c) firearms term has to run consecutive to the other sentences, while the rest run concurrently, for the 138-month total.
The court also ordered three years of supervised release on several counts and imposed a $100 special assessment fee. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Duane A. Evans and Lynn E. Schiffman.
Why it matters
Conversion devices like Glock switches and drop-in auto sears have become a national enforcement priority because they can turn a standard semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic weapon with a tiny piece of metal or plastic. At least half of U.S. states now prohibit such devices, according to the AP, and Axios has reported that police in several major cities are increasingly linking them to violent incidents.
Local officials in New Orleans said the Milan Street seizure and subsequent sentence highlight how small, easily hidden parts can create an outsized threat when paired with manufacturing equipment and explosives inside a neighborhood apartment.
