Convicted Felon Sentenced to More than Six Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing a Machinegun and a Firearm

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A convicted felon has been sentenced to illegally possessing two firearms, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.

Chief U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced Kelvontae Rashad Wallace, 26, of Pell City, Alabama, to 79 months in prison. In June, Wallace pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a machinegun.

According to the plea agreement, between December 2023 and January 2024, Wallace illegally possessed a firearm and a machinegun on two separate occasions:

On December 15, 2023, Talladega police officers responded to a call of a person shot at the Orange #1 gas station. Officers responded to the scene and found a victim lying on the ground that had been shot in the stomach, back, and both legs. Officers collected five .45 caliber spent shell casings from the scene and there were at least three bullet holes in the glass on the store windows and door. Surveillance video from the store showed Wallace drive up to the store, exit his vehicle, and shoot the victim with a Glock pistol that had been converted to a machinegun using a machinegun conversion device, commonly referred to as a "Glock switch."

On January 2, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force and Pell City police officers went to Wallace's apartment to arrest him for warrants for Assault, First Degree and Shooting into an Occupied Building arising from the December incident in Talladega. When the officers arrived, Wallace attempted to flee out the back door of the apartment, but the officers were able to apprehend and arrest him. Officers recovered a Century Arms Micro VSKA 7.62x39mm pistol with a round chambered and a loaded magazine from Wallace's apartment.

ATF investigated the case along with the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force, Pell City Police Department, Talladega Police Department, and Anniston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristy M. Peoples prosecuted the case.