Indiana – A traffic stop in Munster that began with a vehicle pulled over on an autumn day has now ended with a federal prison sentence for a Gary man who was barred from having a gun.
Chester Maclin, Jr., 29, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentence was handed down by United States District Court Judge Gretchen S. Lund, according to an announcement from United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.
The case traces back to September 30, 2023. Maclin was driving a vehicle that was stopped in Munster, Indiana. What happened next turned a roadside encounter into a federal firearms case. Authorities said evidence led law enforcement to search the vehicle, where they found a loaded Glock pistol. The weapon was not just loaded. It was equipped with a machinegun conversion device, a small attachment that can allow a handgun to fire rounds rapidly.
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For prosecutors, that detail mattered. Maclin already had a prior felony conviction, which made it illegal for him to possess a firearm or ammunition. The discovery of the Glock, along with the conversion device, placed the case squarely in federal court.
“On September 30, 2023, the Defendant was the driver of a vehicle pulled over in Munster, Indiana. Evidence led law enforcement to conduct a search of the vehicle, and they found a loaded Glock pistol equipped with a machinegun conversion device that allows for the handgun to fire rounds rapidly. Maclin has a prior felony conviction which prohibits him from possessing a firearm or ammunition. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and AUSA Kristian R. Mukoski brought the case as part of Operation Take Back America, and we are safer for their efforts,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Mildred.
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The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristian R. Mukoski.
Officials said the prosecution was also part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at using federal resources to address illegal immigration, cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime.
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For Maclin, the sentence means four years in federal prison before the start of supervised release. For federal prosecutors, the case is being held up as another example of enforcement aimed at keeping guns, especially modified firearms capable of rapid fire, out of the hands of people legally barred from possessing them.
