KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A Michigan man who texted that he “sells dope and shoots guns” was caught with drugs and a machine-pistol right after being released from prison, officials said.
Troy Davonn Morgan, 23, finished serving a federal prison sentence for a gun crime in June 2023 and began a term of court supervision, according to a release.
Officials said he began selling fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin on the streets of Kalamazoo within weeks of his release.
Police tried to arrest Morgan in September 2023, but he fled through a neighborhood and led cops on a foot chase through a crowd of bystanders, officials said.
When police converged on Morgan, they learned he had a machine-pistol -- a handgun with a switch installed to make it automatic. He was also in possession of fentanyl and cocaine, they said.
United States District Court Judge Robert J. Jonker sentenced Morgan to 130 months in federal prison, saying that even though Morgan is young, he is a repeat offender who was caught with a dangerous weapon.
Jonker also cited a text message sent by Morgan in which he wrote, “It ain’t really to know you already know me i sell dope shoot guns got a son name (redacted) really ain’t s--- to know.”
“Federal laws banning machine guns were designed to fight organized crime in the era of Al Capone,” U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said. “Now, nearly a century later, the spread of switches has made the destructive power of a tommy gun available to any street-level criminal with a few hundred dollars and a pistol.”