A Virginia Beach man, Taekwon Malik Morris, has pled guilty to multiple charges, including possession of a machine gun, drug trafficking, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, following a high-stakes arrest in June. On that day, police noticed Morris’s vehicle with expired temporary tags at an intersection. When officers approached, Morris tried to flee but was quickly caught after a brief chase.
Inside his car, officers found a 9mm handgun outfitted with a machine gun conversion device—a modification that significantly increases the weapon’s firing capacity. Alongside the gun, police discovered 91 pills containing fentanyl, three oxycodone pills, and nearly $9,000 in cash bundled with rubber bands.
Morris’s record shows a prior conviction for grand larceny of a firearm, which makes it illegal for him to possess any firearm or ammunition. His guilty plea now sets him on course for a sentencing hearing scheduled for March 13, 2025. He faces a minimum of five years in federal prison, though his sentence could extend up to life, depending on the judge’s review of the federal sentencing guidelines and other factors.