A Las Vegas man who sold an AK-74-style rifle, a ghost gun, and illegal machinegun conversion devices out of the valley was sentenced Tuesday to 24 months in federal prison, a punishment that landed far below what prosecutors had pushed for. U.S. District Chief Judge Andrew P. Gordon handed Anthony George Hollis, also known as “Ant,” the 24-month term followed by four years of supervised release.
Federal prosecutors had asked the court to impose a 57-month sentence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, making Gordon's ruling a significant downward variance from the government's request. Hollis had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a spree of illicit weapons and drug sales carried out in Las Vegas in May 2024, as first reported by US Attorney Nevada in a post announcing the sentencing.
Court filings detail exactly what Hollis was moving during a three-week window between May 1 and May 24, 2024: an AK-74-style semiautomatic rifle, two 9mm handguns (one of them a privately manufactured “ghost gun”), an AR-15-style rifle, and machinegun conversion devices built for both Glock pistols and AR-15 pattern rifles. He carried out all of it without holding a Federal Firearms License, per the DOJ.
Five Felony Counts, One Meth Charge
Hollis formally pleaded guilty to five federal felony counts — one count of manufacturing and dealing in firearms without a license, three counts of illegal possession and transfer of a machine gun, and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute methamphetamine, the DOJ says. Those charges reflect how federal law treats the sale of unregistered rapid-fire weapons and narcotics trafficking as parallel, and equally serious, offenses.
After the sentencing, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah said Hollis “actively weaponized our streets” by manufacturing and distributing 3D-printed conversion devices while possessing methamphetamine for sale, the DOJ statement notes. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives San Francisco Field Division under Special Agent in Charge John Wester, with prosecution handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Cowhig — a pairing that shows federal firearms enforcement out of California reaching into Nevada casework.
Why Glock Switches Carry Machine Gun Penalties
The devices at the center of the case, commonly known as Glock switches or auto-sears, are not treated as accessories under federal law. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(24) and 26 U.S.C. § 5845(b), the ATF classifies these conversion devices as machine guns themselves, carrying penalties of up to 10 years in prison even when they are never attached to an actual firearm. That statutory framework is part of why the case drew multiple machine gun counts rather than a single weapons charge.
The prosecution also sits inside a specific federal push. In September 2024, the Department of Justice launched the Action Network to Terminate Illegal Machinegun Conversion Devices, known as ANTI-MCD, setting national law enforcement priorities around the spread of 3D-printed switches. Task forces under that initiative have focused heavily on how conversion device files get shared and manufactured locally, according to the ATF.
A Pattern of Meth-and-Guns Cases in Las Vegas
Hollis's case follows a string of similar prosecutions out of the District of Nevada. In August 2023, Chief Judge Gordon sentenced another Las Vegas resident, Charles Sanders, to 96 months in federal prison for a conspiracy involving the sale of more than 800 grams of methamphetamine and 25 firearms, including machine guns, per DOJ records. More recently, in March, federal prosecutors secured a 132-month sentence against Las Vegas felon Jason Roon after a search warrant turned up over 600 grams of methamphetamine and fentanyl alongside an arsenal that included unmarked ghost guns — a case Hoodline covered in a story on the 11-year sentence.
Just weeks ago, Hoodline also reported on Las Vegas felon Frederick Warren's sentencing for illegal gun sales, another case in which a judge imposed a term below what prosecutors had sought. Taken together with Hollis's sentence, the pattern points to a recurring dynamic in Nevada's federal courts: prosecutors pressing for lengthy terms in gun-and-drug cases, and judges sometimes choosing a markedly different path.
