Springfield Man Sentenced to Over Two Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Machinegun

BOSTON – A Springfield, Mass. man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for unlawful possession of a machinegun.

Angel Vargas, Jr., 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In February 2024, Vargas pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a machinegun.  

 On Jan. 27, 2023, during a search of Vargas’s Springfield residence, a ghost gun with an attached Glock switch, laser sight and extended magazine containing 23 rounds of ammunition, along with three firearms: a semi-automatic rifle with another extended magazine containing 22 rounds; a 12-gauge shotgun with five rounds; and a semi-automatic pistol with a third extended magazine containing 15 rounds were seized. Vargas’s mobile phone was also seized which contained evidence that he had been trafficking other firearms, including Glock switches, after a state felony conviction and while on pretrial release for a state firearms case.  
    
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance provided by the Springfield Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.