A 22-year-old Quinlan, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.
Colten David Barrow pleaded guilty on Sep. 11, 2013, to attempting to sell a machine gun and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison on Jan. 15, 2014, by U.S. District Judge MichaelH. Schneider.
According to information presented in court, on Jan. 31, 2012, Barrow and Craig Marcus Cooper traveled together to Duke’s Truck Stop on Highway 64 in Van Zandt County, Texas to meet an individual interested in buying the machine gun. The defendants intended to sell the firearm to the individual for $10,000. However, the buyer was actually an undercover federal agent. The defendants were detained and the 9 mm, fully automatic machine gun with an attached silencer was seized. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Mar. 27, 2013, charging the defendants with firearms violations.
On Jan. 10, 2014, Cooper was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative. Project Safe Neighborhoods is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of guns, ammunition and body armor, and improving the safety of residents in the Eastern District of Texas. Participants in the initiative include community members and organizations as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.