ST. LOUIS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri on Tuesday admitted being caught with a fully automatic pistol, fentanyl and cocaine base after a police chase.

Mario Mitchell, 22, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.

On Oct. 16, 2023, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers spotted a silver Nissan Sentra violate the stop sign at Euclid Avenue and East Lee Avenue in the Penrose neighborhood of St. Louis. Mitchell sped off when officers activated their lights and siren. After officers used spike strips to disable the Sentra, Mitchell got out and ran, discarding a Glock 10mm fully automatic pistol with an extended magazine. When officers caught and arrested Mitchell, he had a bag holding 40 multi-colored capsules containing fentanyl and a bag with several off-white chunks of cocaine base totaling 2.97 grams, he admitted as part of his plea agreement. The pistol was equipped with a conversion device, or “switch,” making it a machine gun under federal law.

Mitchell is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10. Each charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lake is prosecuting the case.

This 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. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.