COLUMBUS, Ga. — A Columbus man who advertised the sale of fully automatic weapons on social media pleaded guilty to firearm trafficking resulting from a Project Safe Neighborhoods investigation.
Officials say those weapons included ghost guns and machine guns.
Matthew Azor, 19, pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking on Dec.17; Azor faces a maximum 15 years in prison and up to three years of supervised release and a maximum $250,000 fine.
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“Matthew Azor illegally sold machine guns and ghost guns on social media, making the deadliest of weapons readily available to dangerous individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Our office and law enforcement partners continue to prioritize prosecutions against those responsible for gun violence in Columbus and across the Middle District of Georgia.”
According to the plea agreement referenced in court, investigators with the Columbus Police Department’s Gang Unit contacted Azor on Jan. 18 after he was seen advertising Glock switches and firearms equipped with machine gun conversion devices or “switches” for sale on social media.
A week later, an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) contacted Azor and arranged for the purchase of machine guns. Azor confirmed with the UC that he had firearms which functioned as machine guns available; specifically, an AR pistol and a Glock.
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The undercover met Azor in Columbus where he paid $1,000 for a Glock model 17 9x19mm caliber firearm with an attached switch to convert the semi-automatic pistol to a rapid-fire machinegun; a privately made AR-styled pistol also known as a ghost gun; and three rounds of assorted 9mm ammunition. ATF agents examined the firearms and determined the Glock model 17 was able to fire fully automatic and the ghost gun was semi-automatic.
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