A Fort Worth man was arrested by agents of the Dallas Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) last month, charged with possession and transfer of machine guns. The charges stem from his alleged manufacture of thousands of “machine gun conversion devices,” or kits that convert weapons from semiautomatic to fully automatic.
Xavier Watson of Fort Worth allegedly produced and distributed these conversion devices, which have been increasingly used on the streets in gang violence crimes.
Conversion devices, referred to informally as “switches” when used on Glock-style handguns or “sears” in semiautomatic rifles, are small, plastic devices that are placed on the back of semiautomatic weapons so they fire multiple rounds of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger. The devices can be made with a 3D printer and sell for about $100.
”He had approximately 80 of those conversion devices in his residency but also had two 3D printers that were in the process of making … more and firearms in his residence,” claimed Agent James VanVliet, assistant special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Division.
The ATF began investigating the issue in early 2022 when the department noticed an uptick in the use of conversion devices. With a switch equipped, an otherwise stock semiautomatic Glock handgun can be capable of firing up to 30 rounds in two seconds.
“It’s not a coincidence that [at] some of the shooting scenes we see now there are more shots fired and more cartridge casings at crime scenes as evidence of those devices and machine guns being put out on the streets,” said VanVliet.
Initially, the ATF arrested Ayoob Wali, Jose Corral Santillan, and Montavion Jones, for the sale of the switches. Undercover agents allegedly purchased the devices from the three.
When questioned, the men reportedly insisted that they did not manufacture the switches themselves, but were supplied by “the guy that got the printer.” Eventually, the ATF investigation claimed that the producer in question was Watson.
Undercover ATF agents suggested that they met Watson inside his home, where he allegedly showed the agents his 3D printing process and assembly of the switch onto the back of a Glock handgun. Watson supposedly bragged that he could produce 400 switches a day and told agents that he shipped the switches out to buyers nationwide, often hiding them inside children’s toys.
During its investigation, the ATF reportedly confiscated over 650 switches and claimed to have shut down the operation. If found guilty, Watson could face up to 10 years in prison.
Corral, one of the distributors, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a machine gun and was sentenced on October 7 to 57 months in prison. Wali and Jones pleaded guilty to the same charge and will be sentenced in the coming months.
