NORFOLK, Va. — A convicted felon was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Friday after he illegally possessed a modified gun and ran from police, the Office of the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney announced.
In a release on Tuesday, officials said 26-year-old Joquan Owens, 26, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon and possessing a trigger activator.
The charges stem from May 2022 when a Norfolk police officer recognized Owens who was holding a firearm near the corner of Monticello Avenue and 28th Street. As the officer approached him, officials say Owens took off.
The officer subsequently searched Owens' vehicle, leading to the discovery of a stolen pistol that had an extended magazine and was modified with a trigger activator.
“Trigger activators are the latest escalation in the arms race we see on American streets, turning a semiautomatic pistol into a machine gun,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “We take the possession of trigger activators very seriously and seek sanctions appropriate to these crimes.”
