A former arms dealer in Canfield who was convicted in 2022 of having an unlicensed machine gun is now asking to be released from probation early.

According to federal court records, Paul Groves is serving his sentence of nine months in prison followed by two years of probation for having an unlicensed machine gun.

As it stands, Groves has completed his nine-month prison sentence, and is in the process of completing his two-year probation sentence with less than one year of that sentence to go.

Groves's attorneys are asking for that probation to be terminated early.

"Mr. Groves has performed well during his period of pretrial and post-conviction supervised release. He has had no new contacts with law enforcement, he has operated an upstanding business venture with operations in excavation, demolition, trucking and a novel upstart involving spraying crops with a drone where excessive raid makes traditional method cost prohibitive," the filing reads.

The filing also included images of Groves's company presenting checks and doing work in the Mahoning Valley.

Groves once operated the High Powered Armory on Market Street in Youngstown. In 2020, he pled guilty to possessing an MK 19 Mod-1 40mm caliber machine gun not registered to him.

According to a sentencing memorandum filed by the United States Attorney’s Office, Grove was caught with an MK19 grenade launcher, a “destructive device” capable of automatic fire while expelling explosive grenades.

The public first became aware of the government’s interest in the former licensed federal firearms dealer when agents searched his Raccoon Road home in Canfield in September 2018.

That search was followed by an indictment that alleged Groves provided false information to fraudulently purchase military-grade weapons and resell them to illegal purchasers, who would then resell them to Mexican buyers.

The indictment did not say who in Mexico received the weapons or how they were used.

You can read much more about this case in our related coverage below.

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