PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh man has been federally sentenced for possessing a machine gun.
The Department of Justice says on Thursday, a judge sentenced Dontrel Bentley, 34, to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors say Bentley had a loaded AR-15 style rifle in his car when stopped by police in October 2022. He also had a .223 caliber round in his pocket and a device that can make a semiautomatic rifle fully automatic.
Bentley admitted that he modified the rifle. Investigators later realized the rifle was a fully automatic weapon, which is prohibited by federal law.
In its news release, the DOJ commended the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for its role in the investigation that led to Bentley’s prosecution.
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