CEDAR RAPIDS — A Marshalltown man who illegally possessed a 3-D printed Glock switch designed to turn a handgun into an automatic weapon was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Tuesday.

Jose Morales-Ramirez, age 20, pled guilty to illegal possession of a machine gun on Jan. 20.

Police were dispatched to Morales-Ramirez’s residence after receiving reports from neighbors regarding possible gunshots. During a search, they located a Glock conversion device designed and intended solely and exclusively for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun. The device, also known as a Glock switch, had been printed on a 3-D printer.

At a hearing in Cedar Rapids, Morales-Ramirez was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Morales-Ramirez was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Tama Police Department.