Imperial Resident Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Possession of Machinegun

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Imperial, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to three years of incarceration, to be followed by two years of supervised release, on his conviction of violating a federal firearms law, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak imposed the sentence on Ja'Shon Spencer, 22, on June 17, 2026.

According to information presented to the Court, on June 16, 2025, Spencer possessed a Glock semiautomatic pistol equipped with a machinegun conversion device (MCD), or "Glock switch," during a drug transaction with undercover members of law enforcement. A MCD is a device that converts a semiautomatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm. Under federal law, both the MCD as well as the firearm with which the MCD is equipped are considered to be machineguns and are illegal.

Assistant United States Attorney Kelly M. Locher prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Spencer.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.