AUSTIN, TEXAS — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
AUSTIN, Texas – A Round Rock man was sentenced in a federal court in Austin today to 30 months in prison for possession of a machinegun.
According to court documents, Ashton Blake Donaldson, 22, knowingly built an illegal machinegun—specifically a fully-automatic .300 AAC Blackout caliber AR-platform pistol—and kept it in a commercial storage unit that he used and controlled.
Donaldson was arrested on May 22, 2025, after he sold multiple privately manufactured machineguns to an undercover agent. He was charged with two counts of possession and transfer of a machinegun and one count of possession of a machinegun. Donaldson pleaded guilty to the third count on July 24, 2025.
U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI, Round Rock Police Department, and Austin Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Buie prosecuted the case.
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