Jun. 12—An Albuquerque man has pleaded guilty to charges of modifying firearms to make them fully automatic before selling them.

Joe Jasso, 20, pleaded guilty to dealing firearms without a license and unlawful transfer or possession of a machine gun and machine gun conversion device.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice in New Mexico, no sentencing date has been announced, but Jasso could face up to 10 years in prison.

His mother, Rachael Jasso, 42, faces the same charges as did her son, according to the U.S. District Court of New Mexico. Her trial is scheduled for July 8, the DOJ said.

The DOJ said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives identified Joe Jasso by his skeleton bone hand tattoo.

According to a criminal complaint filed at U.S. District Court in December 2022, ATF said Jasso “possibly” possessed and sold illegal machine-gun conversion devices, which modify firearms to make them fully automatic. An ATF special agent said Jasso used Instagram to sell the products.

The agent said in February 2023, an undercover Albuquerque police detective agreed to purchase two illegal devices from Jasso and his mother.

The agent said the detective located a vehicle at Kiva Park in the 3100 block of Cuervo NE, near Candelaria and San Mateo, where he contacted the two people. The agent said the detective found Joe Jasso with a disassembled Glock and three pieces of silver in his hand.

The complaint states that the detective, who told the agent he confirmed Jasso was the user of the Instagram account through a photo of his hand tattoo, asked Jasso whether installing the Glock Switch into the detective’s firearm would allow it to shoot fully automatic. Jasso “confirmed that it would.”

According to the DOJ, Joe Jasso also offered to get an assault rifle auto sear to sell to the undercover detective.

The special agent said about a week later, federal and local law enforcement agencies went to Joe and Rachael Jasso’s home, where approximately 10 firearms, five machine gun conversation devices, “a large amount of ammunition,” several magazines and a 3D printer were found.

The agent said Joe Jasso, while being read his Miranda rights, admitted to using Instagram to sell switches and acknowledged that at least one of the firearms was his.

The complaint states that Joe told law enforcement that the firearm had a switch on it, but the switch was not his. The agent said Jasso admitted he put switches on and took them off firearms when he sold them.

According to ATF, Joe and Rachael Jasso did not have a federal firearms license “and are not listed as a ‘responsible party'” on any license, nor did anyone at Jasso’s home have a license. The agent also said the Jassos did not have lawfully registered devices.

“There does not appear to be any lawful reason why either Joe or Rachael Jasso would be allowed to be in possession of a fully automatic weapon,” the agent said.

ATF investigated the case with assistance from APD.