Source: United States Department of Justice News
A Dallas man who allegedly dealt Glock switches via Instagram has been charged with firearm crimes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Jeremiah Dwyen Ashley, 22, was indicted on two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm on December 28.
“Switches transform regular pistols into weapons of war, only suitable for use by soldiers on the battlefield,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “We cannot and will not allow switches to proliferate on the streets of north Texas.”
“Nothing keeps me up at night more than the thought of a machinegun in the wrong hands. If not promptly investigated and arrested, Mr. Ashley would have continued to put these tools of violence on our streets. Citizens of North Texas need to know that ATF and all our law enforcement partners are doing everything we can to prevent machinegun conversion devices from being used and sold unlawfully. These are not toys or souvenirs; these are terrifying,” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.
According to court documents, after spotting an advertisement for Glock switches – devices that convert ordinary semiautomatic pistols into fully automatic machineguns – on Instagram, law enforcement reached out to the owner of the account to arrange an undercover purchase.
On May 24, an undercover officer met an unidentified male, later identified as Mr. Ashley, at a gas station in Garland and purchased three Glock switches for $1,200. When the officer asked how the devices worked, Mr. Ashley allegedly showed him how to install a switch on a pistol.
After confirming Mr. Ashley’s identity, the officer reached out to the Instagram account to arrange a second undercover purchase. In response, the officer received a screenshot of UPS tracking information. UPS security personnel told law enforcement that the package, which was addressed to another individual, was a part of a three-parcel shipment that originated from a company in Taiwan.
Law enforcement seized all three packages from a UPS distribution center on June 10. Inside the packages, they found 30 Glock switches, all surrounded by metal screws, likely included to obscure the packages’ contents. An undercover agent, posing as a package delivery person, delivered the packages to Mr. Ashley on June 14. After giving him a few moments to open the packages, law enforcement executed a search warrant on his apartment.
During the search, Mr. Ashley allegedly admitted that he knew the packages contained Glock switches and confirmed that he understood the purpose of a switch. He claimed that someone else ordered the packages but said they were intended for him. He allegedly admitted that he was known around the neighborhood for selling switches on Instagram.
Glock switches are classified as machineguns under federal law. Unlike semiautomatic firearms, machineguns – weapons that can fire more than one round, without manual reloading, by single function of the trigger – are generally unlawful for non-licensed civilians under the National Firearms Act.
An indictment is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Ashley is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison, 10 years per count.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Office and the Garland Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Blake Ellison is prosecuting the case.