LONGVIEW, Texas (East Texas News) – A man from East Texas is currently jailed in Gregg County on illegal possession of an automatic weapon.
Joseph Patrick Jones was charged in April with illegal possession of a firearm, stemming from an arrest in January in Longview. Jones was arrested again on July 27 for the same charge. His bond was set at $75,000 by Tim Bryan, the Justice of the Peace for Gregg County Precinct 2.
The Gregg County Sheriff’s Office says that in the course of making arrests, they have seen a rise in the discovery of “switches” (the device needed to convert a firearm into an automatic) as well as the number of automatic weapons themselves.
Gregg County Undersheriff Craig Harrington brought a pistol seized in an arrest earlier this year. It is not connected to a Longview Police Department arrest in July. Harrington said the gun has been altered and is now fully automatic.
“We have started to see more illegal modifications with what they call ‘access cards’— inserts into the assault rifle that essentially turn a Glock or a standard assault rifle into a fully automatic weapon,” Harrington said.
He added that conversions began in larger cities, but they are now appearing in smaller communities as well.
“It’s a common phenomenon in East Texas. It’s widespread and we’re seeing more of it as time goes by,” Harrington said.
The sheriff noted that the modified pistols are typically found in the hands of young adults who are being arrested on other charges.
“These teens, and in some cases even younger, who obtain these weapons do so illegally. They’re illegally modified and they’re extremely dangerous,” Harrington said.
How dangerous exactly? Earlier this year, the sheriff demonstrated one of these devices that was in ATF possession. He discharged a 33-round magazine in two seconds. He also noted that the conversion switch can be fabricated from plastic.
“With 3D printers out there, they’re readily available. They’re easy to manufacture and they’re incredibly dangerous,” Harrington said.
The 10mm Glock 30 switch is made of metal, he noted.
“They can now be manufactured to fit perfectly and look like genuine firearm parts,” Harrington added.
Harrington explained that the weapons are often stolen before being modified, and if they appear as evidence, they are tested to determine whether they function as automatics, as this one did.
It is illegal to possess a machine gun or the device that modifies a firearm for automatic fire. Those offenses are Class 3 felonies.
Harrington said investigators have found that the criminal element has developed a preference for 10mm automatic weapons because their firepower can penetrate walls, automobile doors, and even soft body armor.
