Jackson man sentenced to 14 years for manufacturing, selling guns

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - A Jackson man will spend the next 14 years behind bars after being sentenced in connection with manufacturing and selling firearms out of his mother’s home.

On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Kent Newhouse, 41, to 168 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and engaging in business as a manufacturer of firearms, according to U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca.

Court documents state that Newhouse was using a 3-D printer to manufacture firearm components “designed to cause semi-automatic firearms to function as fully automatic machine guns.”

Under federal law, the devices, which are called auto-sears, are classified as machine guns.

On July 13, 2022, Newhouse sold a confidential informant a firearm and several auto-sears, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The government also obtained videos of Newhouse using fully functional machine guns.

On July 20, 2022, a search warrant was executed at Newhouse’s Glen Eagles Drive home, where additional guns and auto-sears were found.

Newhouse previously was convicted of felony sale of controlled substances in Madison County in 2009.

He pleaded guilty to two federal counts on September 1, 2022.

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