A Honolulu man, previously known to authorities as a convicted felon, found himself back in cuffs after law enforcement discovered him armed with an altered firearm and illegal machine gun conversion device. Acting U.S. Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson announced that Chris Pham, 21, was brought up on federal charges for his unlawful possession of a firearm. The charges came following Pham’s arrest on March 12, where officers found him with a defaced 9mm handgun and additional ammunition, according to an announcement detailed on the Department of Justice’s website.
In an ongoing effort to sweep the streets clean of unlawful weapons, this case threads into the broader fabric of Operation Take Back America. Found carrying a fully loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun, the search of Pham’s residence that ensued later revealed a conversion device capable of modifying a semiautomatic weapon into a fully automatic firearm. Despite the severity of the alleged crimes, Pham is presumed innocent until his guilt is proven, as per the principles that anchor our justice system.
Further digging into Pham’s past expressed itself through digital footprints when law enforcement uncovered an Instagram video. This social media post showed Pham firing what appeared to be a fully automatic handgun into the air among public onlookers. A scheduled detention hearing was slated for March 20, as reported on the DOJ’s site…