Willow Grove Man Convicted For Owning Machine Gun: Feds

WILLOW GROVE, PA — A Montgomery County man was convicted in federal court for owning a machine gun that had been converted to fire fully automatic, authorities said.

Sharif Khalid, 42, of Willow Grove, now faces up to 20 years behind bars.

The investigation began in March 2018 when the owner of Frank's Gun Shop, located on Blakiston Avenue in Philadelphia, told authorities that someone was firing a fully automatic weapon at their range.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms arrived at the gun shop and found Khalid with an AR-57, along with 50 live rounds of ammunition to fit the weapon, according to the US Attorney's Office.

Furthermore, Khalid was not registered to possess a firearm.

In addition to a potential sentence of two decades behind bars, Khalid could also face three years of probation and more than half a million in fines.

Sentencing is forthcoming.