• A Washington, D.C. resident was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. Police observed him on Instagram Live with a modified handgun capable of fully automatic fire.

• The livestream led police to pull over the man in the car, where they found the illegally modified firearm and more than three pounds of marijuana.

• He had been released from prison less than a year earlier after serving part of a 10-year sentence for robbery, with most of the sentence suspended.

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A formerly incarcerated Washington D.C. resident is headed back to prison after police saw him on Instagram Live, holding a pistol converted to enable fully automatic fire.

Corey Whittico, 22, was sentenced Monday, March 24, in U.S. District Court to 84 months in federal prison. A Justice Department (DOJ) release said he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.

Instagram witness

Whittico’s arrest came after Metropolitan Police Department officers watched a Dec. 19, 2023, Instagram livestream from an account that they knew belonged to the offender. In the video, police say they witnessed Whittico in a car brandishing a handgun modified with an aftermarket conversion device known as a “switch.”

The device, commonly used on semi-automatic Glock-brand pistols, allows for fully automatic firing.

They also witnessed Whittico reach for bags in the backseat of the car that appeared to contain cannabis. 

Once officers pulled over the car Whittico was in, they found more than three pounds of marijuana in addition to the illegally modified handgun from the livestream.

Priors

Whittico had been out of prison for less than a year before his arrest in December, according to the DOJ. Whittico was convicted of robbery in April 2023 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, with eight years and six months suspended.