The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) arrested a Dallas man who allegedly sold illegal Glock switches, according to a news release.
On December 28, 2022, 22-year-old Jeremiah Dwyen Ashley was taken into custody and indicted on two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm.
Ashley conducted the alleged sales of the switches via Instagram, according to the ATF.
When the agency learned of Ashley allegedly selling illegal switches online, an agent reached out to him to make an undercover purchase.
Glock switches are illegal devices that transform a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic handgun.
A semi-automatic firearm differs from a fully automatic firearm in that it can only fire one bullet per trigger pull, while a fully automatic firearm fires multiple rounds of ammunition with just one squeeze of the trigger.
“Switches transform regular pistols into weapons of war, only suitable for use by soldiers on the battlefield,” U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton argued in a public statement. “We cannot and will not allow switches to proliferate on the streets of north Texas.”
Before his arrest, Ashley met with an undercover officer at a gas station in Garland on May 24.
The undercover officer asked Ashley how the devices worked, and the suspect allegedly showed him how to install a switch on a pistol. The officer apparently went on to purchase three Glock switches from Ashley for $1,200.
After law enforcement officials confirmed Ashley’s identity, they reached out to him again on Instagram to set up another undercover purchase and reportedly received a screenshot of UPS tracking information from him in response.
UPS security personnel explained to law enforcement that the package was addressed to another individual and was part of a three-parcel shipment that originated from a company in Taiwan.
On June 10, ATF entered a UPS distribution facility and confiscated all three packages.
Inside the packages were 30 Glock switches that were surrounded by metal screws in an apparent effort to conceal them.
On June 14, a law enforcement agent posed as a package delivery person and delivered the packages to Ashley. After waiting an adequate amount of time for Ashley to open the packages to confirm their contents, officers executed a search warrant on his apartment.
At this time Ashley allegedly admitted that he knew the packages contained Glock switches and confirmed to agents that he understood the purpose of a switch, according to the release.
He also reportedly told officers that, while someone else had ordered the packages, they were intended for him and that he was known for selling switches on Instagram in his neighborhood.
“Nothing keeps me up at night more than the thought of a machine gun in the wrong hands. If not promptly investigated and arrested, Mr. Ashley would have continued to put these tools of violence on our streets,” said ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II in a statement.
“Citizens of North Texas need to know that ATF and all our law enforcement partners are doing everything we can to prevent machine gun conversion devices from being used and sold unlawfully. These are not toys or souvenirs; these are terrifying.”
If convicted Ashley faces up to 20 years in federal prison, a decade per count.
According to Dallas police, there have been 318 criminal incidents involving a firearm so far this year. Murder, assaults, and sexual assaults are all up as well.
The Dallas Express routinely tracks crimes occurring in the city and traces them to the district leader responsible for endangering residents. Councilmember Jaynie Schultz of District 11 has the dubious honor of being named January’s Crime Boss of the Month based on crime data showing an 18.16% hike year-over-year in December.
