VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of a machine gun, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm during and during in relation to, a drug trafficking offence.

Taekwon Malik Morris, 27, had previously been convicted of grand theft of a firearm, which meant he could not legally possess firearms or ammunition. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2025 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life in prison.

Morris was driving a vehicle with expired temporary tags on June 8 when Virginia Beach police officers pulled up behind him at an intersection, at which point he got out of the car to look at the rear tires, according to court documents. But when officers told him he was stopped, he ran.

He was caught after a short foot chase, at which point officers found a 9 mm handgun with a machine gun conversion device on the driver’s floor in plain view, court documents state. Officers found three pills containing oxycodone, 91 fentanyl pills and $8,887 tied up in rubber bands.

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