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Richmond man to serve 21 months in prison for machine gun possession

Crystal Graham
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A Richmond man was sentenced today to a year and nine months in prison for illegally possessing a machine gun.

According to court documents, on March 25, 2023, Sterling Alexander Davis, 21, failed to stop at the intersection of Orcutt Lane and Kimrod Road. Richmond police performed a traffic stop.

Davis told officers there were no firearms in the vehicle, but officers recognized the two passengers in the back seat and knew that they had possessed firearms in previous encounters. The officers checked both backseat passengers and found firearms in their pants.

The officers then performed a protective sweep of the vehicle for additional weapons and located a 9mm handgun under the driver seat. The handgun was equipped with a laser guide and an extended magazine. The firearm also included a machine gun conversion device that rendered it capable of fully automatic fire meeting the legal definition of a machine gun.

After Davis was arrested, law enforcement executed a search warrant on his cell phone.

The search revealed text messages dating back two years in which Davis discussed buying and selling conversion devices, claiming he had both the “built-in” and the “regular” type that replace the backplate of the firearm.

Davis pleaded guilty to the charge in April.

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Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.