Special to Iredell Free News

CHARLOTTE — A Statesville man has been indicted by a grand jury on federal weapons charges.

Trevaris Devar Kennedy, 21, is charged with possession of a machinegun and possession of a firearm by a felon, U.S. Attorney Dena J. King announced Monday. Kennedy was arrested Monday and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.

According to allegations in the indictment, on December 22, 2023, Kennedy knowingly possessed a machinegun in Iredell County. The weapon was a semiautomatic handgun that was converted to a machinegun capable of fully automatic fire, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.

Federal law prohibits the possession of a machinegun and defines as a machinegun the converted firearm or a device designed or intended for use in converting a firearm into a machinegun. Furthermore, under federal law, the conversion device is illegal and classified as a machinegun whether it is affixed to a firearm or not.

The indictment further alleges that, on the same date, Kennedy illegally possessed two Glock semi-automatic pistols, knowing he had been convicted of at least one crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.

The charges are allegations. Kennedy is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Statesville Police Department handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shavonn Bennette is prosecuting the case.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. In July 2022, as part of PSN, the U.S. Attorney’s Office launched Think Again, a local initiative aiming to raise awareness about gun crimes and illegal firearms purchasing or misuse and to increase the reporting of illegal firearms activity to law enforcement.