The group allegedly bought Glock switches from China and then advertised and sold modified firearms on social media.
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Officers recovered four firearms and 35 Glock Switches that were advertised and sold through social media.
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Glock Switches can turn semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons.
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Three search warrants and eight arrest warrants were served across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
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Officers recovered four firearms and 35 Glock Switches that were advertised and sold through social media.
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Glock Switches can turn semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons.
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Three search warrants and eight arrest warrants were served across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
Texas’s IrvingEight youths were detained by Irving police for purchasing and distributing illegal gun modifications, with assistance from federal and local law enforcement.
The group allegedly bought Glock switches from China and then advertised and sold modified firearms on social media.
The bigger operation to remove these unlawful switches from the streets is linked to these arrests.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas said that following a four-month investigation into the illegal distribution of Machine Gun Conversion Devices, also known as Glock Switches or auto sears, three search warrants and eight arrest warrants were executed throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex on January 9.
Caden Martinez, 17, Xavier Velasquez, 17, Marnelius Burks, 20, Marco Cabrales, 22 are in the top row from left to right. Royce Weaver, 21, Anthony Cantu, 18, Damien Sereseroz, 20, and Gracie Valadez, 20 are in the bottom row, from left to right.
We know:
When Irving police discovered one of the suspects was staying in Irving, they launched their investigation back in September.
Then, investigators found that the organization operated in North Texas, including Arlington, Fort Worth, and Seagoville.
According to Irving police, eight individuals, ages 17 to 22, are now facing federal and state charges for allegedly unlawfully distributing Glock switches, which are machine gun conversion devices.
According to court filings, two of the people who were arrested are charged with ordering switches online from China and sending them to North Texas.
“That’s why we are seeing an influx of them on the street,” Anthony Alexander, an Irving police officer, stated. “It is almost as easy as ordering a package from Amazon.”
It is alleged that one man sold the switches to an undercover police officer after promoting them on social media. Additionally, he is charged with using social media to promote the sale of switches and drop-in sears.
To apprehend the suspects involved in the transactions, Irving police pretended to be buyers in December.
Anthony Joel Cantu, age 18, met with an undercover police officer. He replied, “Hell yeah, my boy,” when the officer questioned if the aforementioned sear made weapons fire fully automatically. He also mentioned that he had one on his own AR-style pistol.
Four weapons and around 40 switches that were sold on social internet have been retrieved by police since September.
All eight were arrested last week with assistance from a number of departments, including the police departments in Arlington, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Garland, as well as the ATF and Homeland Security.
During the execution of search warrants, further switches, guns, narcotics, and cash were discovered.
“We were only able to buy so many,” Anthony Alexander, an Irving police officer, stated. Sadly, I would assume that some did manage to escape the street. Thus, it is a persistent issue.
Who was arrested in the takedown?
Caden Martinez, 17, Xavier Velasquez, 17, Marnelius Burks, 20, Marco Cabrales, 22 are in the top row from left to right. Royce Weaver, 21, Anthony Cantu, 18, Damien Sereseroz, 20, and Gracie Valadez, 20 are in the bottom row, from left to right.
Three individuals were charged with possession and transfer of a machine gun, aiding and abetting the possession and transfer of a machine gun, and conspiracy to possess and transfer a machine gun: Marnelius Burks, 20, Marco Cabrales, 22, and Royce Weaver, 21.
Gracie Valadez, 20, and Damien Sereseroz, 21, were accused with assisting and abetting the transfer and possession of a machine gun.
The 18-year-old Anthony Joel Cantu was accused of possessing a machine gun, which is also a federal felony.
They could each spend up to ten years in federal prison if found guilty.
Highlighted
19-year-old Dallas gang member arrested in Glock switch crackdown
Federal charges have been brought against a Dallas gang member for allegedly owning an illicit equipment that can convert a handgun into a fully automatic weapon.
The state is accusing 17-year-old Caden Martinez and 17-year-old Xavier Velasquez of engaging in organized crime, possessing a controlled narcotic, unlawfully using a criminal instrument, and possessing a prohibited weapon.
Police cited a music video that was posted online in October and purports to depict 17-year-old Caden brandishing several firearms.
What they’re saying:
We promised six months ago that the federal government would use all of its resources to combat the trafficking of machine gun conversion technologies. We’ve accomplished that with the assistance of our law enforcement colleagues,” stated U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “These illicit devices significantly boost a firearm’s lethality when in the hands of a criminal. Our streets will not be overrun by them.
“Unfortunately, the good guys cooperate with the bad men. Fortunately for our folks, we collaborate better than any criminal organization, even though it may not always seem that way in Hollywood. Last year, we pledged to launch a full-scale assault against machine gun conversion devices, and this case demonstrates that our team is on track. ATF Dallas Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II said, “I want to thank the Irving Police Department, especially their incredibly talented detective team, and all our law enforcement partners for this collective win for the people of the DFW metroplex.”
“I would want to express my gratitude to the Irving Police Department and ATF Dallas for their joint efforts in combating the grave problem of unlawful firearm modifications. Our commitment to public safety remains unwavering, and we will continue to work diligently to prevent the proliferation of dangerous weapons in our community,” said Boshek.
The backstory
The takedown on Thursday was a component of “Operation Texas Kill Switch,” a statewide effort targeting “switches,” or machine gun conversion devices, which convert semi-automatic firearms that are sold commercially into fully automatic weapons that can fire more quickly than military-grade machine guns.
Launched by U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs, and Jaime Esparza in June 2024, Operation Texas Kill Switch relies on partnerships with state and local law enforcement as well as rewards offered by Crime Stoppers.
Last October,Juan Angel Rendon, of Haltom City,pleaded guilty for illegal possession of a machine gun. He was seen on social media randomly opening fire out of a moving vehicle using a switch-equipped handgun.
Rendon s arrest and conviction was part of the statewide federal initiative.
The recent arrests were also part of Irving Police Department s “Operation Reel Switch,” targeting the illegal possession and distribution of machine gun conversion devices in the metroplex. A partnership between Irving Police, ATF Dallas and Homeland Security Investigations Dallas, Operation Reel Switch was launched in September 2024.
To date, law enforcement involved in “Operation Texas Kill Switch” have seized 38 machine gun conversion devices and several guns.
What is a switch?
The ATF demonstrates the difference in a semi-automatic pistol and one equipped with a Glock Switch.
Why you should care:
About an inch long, switches may be made of metal or plastic and can be printed on commercially available 3D printers. They generally slot into the butt of a gun and allow the shooter to fire “full auto,” unloading dozens of rounds with a single pull of the trigger. (In contrast, regular semi-automatic firearms require a separate trigger pull for each round fired.)
“We re here to talk about a roughly one-inch piece of plastic. It looks innocuous enough, a little like a lego or a k nex block. But this one-inch piece of plastic is killing people,” U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton said at a press conference in June. “Machinegun conversion devices can turn Second Amendment-protected firearms into illegal weapons of war, and petty criminals into brutal killers. We cannot have our streets turned into war zones. We cannot and we will not allow switches to proliferate in north Texas.”
To date, switches have been used in numerous fatal shootings, including at least one juvenile mass shooting and multiple police killings.
Except in very limited circumstances, possession of a switch is illegal, as the National Firearms Act classifies the switchitselfas a machine gun.
Yet the number of switches recovered by law enforcement has risen dramatically in the past few years.
Between 2017 and 2023, Texas-based ATF agents seized 991 switches; 490 of those, 50 percent, were seized just last year. They are often sold on social media, marketed to adults and juveniles alike.
“I have been in this business for a long time, and nothing scares me more than the rapid flood of machine gun conversion devices on the streets of Texas and beyond. Rest assured that ATF and its partners are doing everything we can to stop the flow of these things and to prevent the carnage they can create. I applaud our U.S. Attorney partners for their willingness to aggressively prosecute these criminals and gangsters” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.
The Source:Information in this article is from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and the Irving Police Department.
