NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A Virginia Beach man faces up to 15 years in prison for his part in a federal firearms conspiracy.
On Monday, 22-year-old Eric Floyd pleaded guilty to possessing and transferring machineguns and to conspiring to illegally sell firearms, including machineguns, handguns, and rifles.
Court documents show that law enforcement began investigating Floyd beginning in April 2023. At that time, Floyd sold firearms and machinegun conversion devices, commonly referred to as “Glock switches,” which are used to convert semiautomatic firearms into machineguns.
Between May 2023 and December 2023, Floyd along with his co-conspirators sold approximately nineteen handguns, two rifles, and thirty-five Glock switches – many of which they manufactured, to an undercover federal law enforcement agent.
During one transaction, Floyd told the agent, that some of the guns were “dirty,” meaning they were involved in criminal activity. Floyd also told the agent that selling the dirty firearms helped distance the original perpetrators and firearms from the crimes.
Floyd pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to engage in the firearms business without a license and to illegally possess and transfer a machinegun and one count of illegally possessing and transferring a machinegun.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11. Floyd faces a maximum penalty of fifteen years in prison.