The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania reported that a Schuylkill County man was sentenced Thursday to 27 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion in Scranton, for his illegal possession of a fully functional unregistered machine gun, and an unmarked and unregistered drop-in auto sear - which is a specific part that makes a semi-automatic rifle fire fully automatic when placed into the weapon.

According to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith, the defendant, James Augustus Brauer, 31, previously pleaded guilty in April, at which time he admitted to possession of the machine gun at his home on Jan. 24, 2012.The conviction is the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pennsylvania State Police.Judge Mannion also ordered that Brauer serve three years on supervised release following his prison sentence.