Hopkinton Man Sentenced on Firearms Charges

Illegally purchased gun conversion kits from China

PROVIDENCE – A Hopkinton, RI, man previously convicted on domestic assault and receiving stolen goods, and who admitted to illegally possessing firearms and to illegally ordering gun parts from China used to convert Glock 9mm pistols to automatic weapons, was sentenced on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Providence.

David Poole, 32, previously admitted to the court that in early 2019, he purchased at least two Glock conversion devices from a web site operated out of China. The parts, when added to a Glock pistol, convert a Glock pistol into a fully automatic weapon.

An investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) identified at least 3,800 transactions by U.S. customers who are believed to have illegally purchased conversion devices and had them shipped to the United States. Often times, the contents of the packages shipped to the United States were labeled as “MULTITOOL SWITCH” and/ or “HANDCRAFTED FINISHED PIECES.”

According to information presented to the court, as part of the investigation the U.S. Postal Inspection Service determined and reported to ATF that at least five packages from assorted vendors containing various firearms-related accessories were delivered to Poole’s residence between February and April 2019.

Poole was arrested on May 7, 2019, as he accepted delivery from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service of the package containing the conversion devices illegally ordered and shipped from China.

Poole pleaded guilty on November 5, 2019, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun (eight conversion switch parts each capable of enabling a Glock pistol to fire as a fully automatic weapon). He was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith to three years probation, the first six months to be served at the Neil J. Houston, Jr., House in Pawtucket to be followed by three months home confinement with electronic monitoring.

Poole’s sentence is announced by United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Kelly D. Brady, and Joseph W. Cronin, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division.

United States Attorney Aaron L. Weisman thanks U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for their assistance in the investigation of this matter.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.