FLORIDA – A Florida man faces up to 15 years in prison after a jury convicted him of dealing firearms without a license and possessing a machine gun.
Johnny Matthew Battle Jr., 30, of Miami, was convicted at trial before U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO) has announced.
According to the USAO, Battle operated an illegal firearm dealing business since at least 2017, selling guns without a background check to persons representing themselves as having been convicted of a felony or as drug dealers.
Battle’s illegal business included selling “Glock Switch” machine gun conversion devices and accepting narcotics as payment for firearms, said the USAO.
According to prosecutors, law enforcement agents have identified the purchases of at least 170 Battle-related guns and have recovered many across the United States, including in New York City, Boston, and overseas.
Battle also reportedly aided his criminal associates through acts that included a shooting at the home of an alleged drug trafficker associate’s rival, the USAO said.
Sentencing has been scheduled for October 27. At sentencing, Battle faces up to 15 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department made the announcement.
ATF Miami Field Office and the Miami Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), the FBI, Miami Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hayden O’Byrne and Ignacio J. Vázquez Jr. prosecuted it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-20352.
