Felon, New Port Richey Resident Charged With Possession of Machine Gun

Two men, one of them a felon, are in jail after police say they found them with a modified TEC-9 handgun in the Valu-Lodge on U.S. 19. in New Port Richey.

Antonio Lamont Davis, 30, a convicted felon with the alias “Capone,” and Matthew Estill, 18, were arrested and charged with being in possession of a machine gun Monday at the Valu-Lodge at 6523 U.S. 19 by .

The New Port Richey police were told by another agency on Monday that Davis was in room 156 and in possession of an automatic handgun. A patrol officer met Davis outside his room. He looked inside the room and saw Estill with a TEC-9 Luger in his hand. Estill threw the gun to the floor and let himself be detained.

Police say the TEC-9, which is a semi-automatic handgun, was modified to be “allegedly fully automatic.”  A silencer and magazine stacked with 22 9 mm bullets were next to it.

Post Miranda, Estill said the gun belonged to a man named “Nate. “ Estill told deputies he did not like guns and that he wanted to take out the magazine because there were females in the room. Estill is 18 and is not allowed to possess a firearm.

An officer patted down Davis, in whose name the room was registered, and found a prescription bottle of cocaine on him. Davis told the police the gun belonged to “Nate,” but the cocaine was his.  Davis told police that “Nate” dropped the gun off at Davis’s room because he was having an argument with his girlfriend. He wanted to get rid of it in case she called law enforcement.

An agent from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is going to investigating the weapon.

The two men were booked into the Land O' Lakes Jail on Tuesdy. Estill, of Saltamonte Drive, New Port Richey, has been charged with possession of a machine gun. His bail is set at $2,500.

Davis, whose address is listed as the hotel room he was arrested at, has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of cocaine and possession of a machine gun. His bail is set at $25,000.