Georgia Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing Illegal Machineguns and Drug Trafficking

Photo byDCNDG

Drevion Micah Evans, a 24-year-old resident of Lithonia, Georgia, has been sentenced to federal prison for a series of crimes involving illegal firearms possession and drug trafficking. Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. handed down a sentence of six years and six months, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

The charges against Evans stemmed from incidents in 2022 and 2023. On August 15, 2022, Evans attempted to evade a police officer in Chamblee, Georgia, by reversing his vehicle during a traffic stop. Subsequent to his arrest, a search of Evans' car uncovered a loaded .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine that had been illegally converted to fire automatically. Despite having no prior arrest history, Evans was released on bond.

Just over a year later, on October 20, 2023, Evans arranged for the delivery of another illegally modified pistol with an extended magazine to his home. He hired an Uber driver to pick up the package from a store in Carroll County, Georgia. However, the Uber driver, noticing the scent of marijuana emanating from the package, delivered it instead to the Carrollton Police Department. Upon inspection, the package was found to contain not only the modified pistol, reported stolen, but also 16 one-ounce bags of marijuana.

Shortly thereafter, on October 30, 2023, Evans was detained by police in DeKalb County, Georgia, due to outstanding warrants from Carroll County. During the arrest, officers discovered a third firearm—a 9mm pistol with an extended magazine and a machinegun conversion device—on the floorboard of Evans' vehicle.

In court, Evans pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of a machinegun and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on January 10, 2024. The severity of the charges reflected the illegal modification of firearms to function as fully automatic machineguns, which are classified as highly dangerous under federal law.

The investigation and prosecution involved collaboration between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and multiple local law enforcement agencies, including the Chamblee Police Department, Carrollton Police Department, and DeKalb County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg prosecuted the case, underscoring the serious nature of firearms trafficking and its connection to drug offenses.

The case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence by enhancing collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The approach emphasizes trust-building in communities, targeted enforcement strategies, and support for violence prevention efforts.

Attributions: Northern District of Georgia