A device used to convert semiautomatic pistols into full-auto firearms is being targeted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Eastern North Carolina.
U.S. Attorney Michael Easley issued a warning on social media this week reminding people that they face up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possessing an auto-sear switch. The switch is a small, conversion device that can be attached to a handgun, converting it into a fully automatic machine gun. It’s commonly used on Glock handguns, so much so that the nickname for the attachment is a “Glock switch”.
Then campaign begins after two defendants were sentenced for possession of the devices in eastern North Carolina.
“In the last week we’ve sentenced two defendants caught with ghost guns modified into fully automatic machine guns,” Easley said. “According to the Bureau of alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), from 2017 to 2021, over 5,000 machinegun conversion devices, or “switches,” were recovered in the U.S. – a 570 percent increase from the 814 recovered between 2012 and 2016.
“The number of switches continue to increase, with thousands recovered nationwide over the last two years,” Easley. “A gun with a switch can automatically fire an entire 30-round magazine in about two seconds. Owning the switches is equivalent to owning a machine gun, and if you have them, our office will prosecute you.”
In the past two weeks, two individuals have been sentenced to 80 months and 162 months respectively for possession of a machine gun or machine gun conversion device.
Lamikah Baptist, 19, of Farmville, a gang member, pled guilty and was sentenced to 80 months for possession of a machine gun. According to court documents and other information presented in court, on Jan. 15, the Greenville Police Department responded to a shots-fired call outside a residence where shots were fired at individuals in the yard.
A SpotShotter report indicated that 21 rounds of automatic gunfire were discharged, and officers found 20 spent shell casings on the road in front of the home. Surveillance video showed Baptist as a passenger in a car leaving the scene after the shooting, and within five minutes, Baptist went live on Instagram with a video that appeared to reference the shooting and indicate that it was directed at members of a rival gang that had killed Baptist’s friend.
On and around the date of the shooting, Baptist posted other videos titled, “Just me and my switch,” where he is heard talking about owning a switch and “Come get this off me,” where he is shown with a privately-manufactured Polymer80 handgun and a bag of marijuana. A search of the residence where Baptist was apprehended revealed a ghost gun with a switch loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition, additional ammunition, a 50-round drum magazine, marijuana and a ballistic vest.
A Wilmington man, Tyrese Jerry Dawson, 24, recently pled guilty and was sentenced to 162 months for two counts of possession of a machine gun conversion device, two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and two counts of possession of a firearm in connection with a drug trafficking crime. According to court documents and testimony, Dawson was involved in multiple traffic stops in the Wilmington area, including one where he led officers on a high-speed chase traveling in excess of 70 miles per hour and drove on the wrong side of the road.
Searches of the vehicles involved in the traffic stops revealed cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana and three personally made firearms without serial numbers, also known as “ghost guns,” two of which had high-capacity magazines. Dawson’s fingerprints were located on at least one of the guns with an extended magazine.
A fourth ghost gun with a switch and a 31-round magazine was found in a bag Dawson was observed to have left near a car wash.
“Machine gun conversion kits are turning up more and more in our streets and at crime scenes,” said Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “These conversion devices are illegal, incredibly dangerous, and pose a serious threat to the community. ATF is working closely with our law enforcement partners to keep these devices off our streets.”
Easley encouraged individuals with information on machine gun conversion devices to call the tip line at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) at 1-888-ATF-TIPS or ATF.gov/ATF-Tips.
U.S. District Court Judge C. Dever III handed down both sentences. The Baptist case was investigated by the Greenville Police Department and the ATF and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Aubart. The Dawson case was investigated by the Wilmington Police Department, the New Hanover and Brunswick County Sheriff’s Offices and the ATF and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Van Trigt. Van Trigt is a prosecutor with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to handle federal cases. This has been made possible by a grant from the county.
