Federal Grand Jury Indicts Indiana Man for Firearms Trafficking and other Firearms Offenses

Louisville, KY - A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment on March 20, 2024, charging a New Albany, Indiana man with firearms trafficking, illegal possession of a machine gun, and illegal possession of an unregistered firearm.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division, and Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel of the Louisville Metro Police Department made the announcement.

According to the indictment, Allen Love, 39, was charged with four counts of firearms trafficking, occurring on February 1, 5, and 17, and March 6, 2024. He was also charged with three counts of illegal possession of a machine gun, specifically six Swift Conversion Devices on February 5 and 17, and March 6, 2024. Lastly, Love illegally possessed an unregistered firearm, specifically a 9-millimeter short barreled rife, on February 1, 2024.

A Swift Conversion Device is a device that allows a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle to function as a fully automatic. A Swift Conversion Device is defined as a machine gun under federal law.

The defendant made his initial court appearance this week before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, Love faces a maximum sentence of 100 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by the ATF and the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Porter is prosecuting the case.

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.

This case was prosecuted under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted and the President signed in June 2022. The Act is the first federal statute specifically designed to target the unlawful trafficking and straw-purchasing of firearms.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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