New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Machinegun

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - XAVION WATTS ("WATTS"), age 21, a resident of New Orleans, pled guilty on July 17, 2024, before United States District Judge Lance M. Africk to Possession of a Machinegun, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(o).

The Possession of a Machinegun charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00. Judge Africk scheduled sentencing for October 30, 2024.

Court documents reveal that on October 29, 2022, NOPD patrol officers on foot patrol in the 400 block of Bourbon Street saw a pistol handle shaped object resembling a concealed firearm, protruding from under WATTS's shirt. When officers approached WATTS, he fled on foot but was apprehended. Officers recovered the firearm/machine gun, specifically, a Glock Model 17, nine-millimeter, with a fully automatic switch, that had fallen out of his waistband during arrest. The firearm was loaded with one live round in the chamber and twenty-one live rounds in the extended magazine. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agents tested the pistol and found it functioned as a fully automatic machine gun, due to the Glock conversion device it contained.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Mark A. Miller of the Narcotics Unit is assigned the prosecution.