A Fort Worth man, Brennan Trainor Rodriguez, 33, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for illegal possession of a machinegun, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Rodriguez was indicted in October 2024 and pleaded guilty in December 2024 to the charge. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor handed down the 51-month sentence on April 4, 2025.
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The case has a grim backdrop. According to court records, on June 7, 2013, Rodriguez was charged with injecting heroin into a 21-year-old man who subsequently died from an overdose. Rodriguez admitted to causing the man’s death and was placed on 10 years of deferred adjudication beginning November 26, 2014. A key condition of his community supervision was the prohibition of possessing firearms.
However, on August 6, 2024, law enforcement responded to a domestic disturbance call from Rodriguez’s former girlfriend. She reported that Rodriguez had been stalking and harassing her after their breakup and that he frequently shot guns, including one capable of fully automatic fire.
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The following week, Rodriguez was arrested for stalking. A subsequent search of his residence by law enforcement revealed nine firearms, including a Smith & Wesson rifle equipped with a machinegun conversion device, also known as a “switch” or “auto sear.”
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division – Fort Worth Resident Agency, and the Fort Worth Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric B. Chen prosecuted the case.
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