CLEVELAND — A gun, ammunition, drugs were all confiscated during a recent traffic stop in Bedford. But it wasn’t just a regular Glock handgun that Bedford police discovered.
“So that gun can now fire 30 rounds in five or six seconds,” said US Attorney of the Northern District Justin Herdman.
The gun was equipped with a select fire auto-sear, also known as a select fire switch.
“It’s a newer thing hitting the internet because people think it’s cool,” said Assistant Bedford Police Chief Rick Suts.
Suts said in the matter of about a month, they confiscated two guns outfitted with the switches that turn a semi-automatic Glock pistol into a fully automatic weapon.
“The second you put that on a gun, it violates the National Firearms Act,” said Suts. “It makes it a machine gun which is illegal."
A federal grand jury indicted a Cleveland man for having an unlicensed machine gun. Toriano Leaks, Jr., 20 was indicted on two counts of illegal possession of a machine gun.
“We have seen a significant uptick in people trying to acquire these switches manufactured mostly in China,” added Herdman.
The feds have set their sights set on those who have these switches. “No question about it. A message is being sent. If you have a machine gun in the Northern District of Ohio, we are going to prosecute you federally,” added Herdman.
The push is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program aimed at violent crime.
