Palm Coast man given 21 years for owning machine gun, assaulting officer

ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Radbourne Mark Anthony Saleem (40, Palm Coast) to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison for possessing a machinegun and silencer and assaulting a federal officer. He pleaded guilty on November 5, 2014. 

According to court documents, on November 1, 2013, Saleem, a previously convicted felon, met with a confidential informant (CI) to discuss purchasing a machinegun, a silencer, and a pistol. During the meeting, Saleem talked with the CI about the advantages of using a silencer to commit home invasion robberies. He also mentioned that he was looking for something to catch the shells. Saleem told the CI that he would sell his "soul to the devil" to get the weapons.

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On November 15, 2013, Saleem met with the CI again and bought a .45 caliber pistol with a silencer and a machinegun for $1,000. As agents attempted to arrest him, Saleem began driving toward the agents at a high rate of speed. Saleem was shot several times as he fled the scene. He later hit a vehicle in Flagler County, was ejected from his vehicle, and was subsequently arrested.

"Mr. Saleem is a multi-convicted felon who will be off of our streets and unable to victimize anyone for a long time," said Special Agent in Charge Regina Lombardo, ATF. "He will no longer be in a position to possess or use firearms. The sentence imposed by the court guarantees that our community will be safe from Mr. Saleem."
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James D. Mandolfo.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice's "Project Safe Neighborhoods" Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is also a part of ATF's Frontline strategy to reduce violence in our communities.