A Franklin man used a 3-D printer to make and sell illegal firearms and machine gun conversion devices, according to federal prosecutors. Provided by U.S. Attorneys Office
A Franklin man will serve two years in federal prison for making “ghost guns,” along with trafficking firearms and “Glock switches.”
Alexander Clark, 28, was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to making a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act, possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of a machine gun. The sentence was imposed by Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Indiana, who also ordered that Clark be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, or ATF, began investigating Clark based on occasions where he sold privately-made firearms, also known as “ghost guns.” Over a one-month period, Clark was observed selling five Glock-style pistols that were made with a 3-D printer, a 3-D printed AR-15 rifle lower receiver and two machine gun conversion devices, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Indiana.
Machine gun conversion devices, sometimes called “Glock switches” or “auto-sears,” are devices that convert ordinary semi-automatic firearms into fully-automatic machine guns. Machine gun conversion devices are themselves considered machine guns under federal law, even when not installed. They are illegal to possess or sell.
On Aug. 22, 2022, ATF agents searched Clark’s home and located multiple firearms, machine guns, silencers, firearm accessories and a 3-D printer. They also found other electronic devices that were used to enable 3-D printing, according to the news release.
In total, Clark possessed seven machine guns, 27 machine gun conversion devices and seven silencers — none of which were legally registered.
Zachary A. Myers, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, called machine gun conversation devices “an urgent public safety challenge.” An ordinary pistol equipped with a conversion device and an extended magazine can fire 31 rounds in only two seconds, he said in a statement.
“Criminals like this defendant exploit modern technology to illegally manufacture deadly weapons and illegally arm others, including felons and juveniles,” Myers said. “The serious federal prison sentence imposed here demonstrates that our office is committed to making our communities safer by getting these devices off our streets and holding illegal gun traffickers accountable.”
Machine gun conversion devices are one of the “most serious challenges” facing ATF and their law enforcement partners right now, said Daryl S. McCormick, the special agent in charge of the agency’s Columbus, Ohio Field Division.
“These conversion devices increase the lethality of a firearm, while also reducing the ability of the person firing the weapon to control where they shoot. This combination is deadly and random and represents a clear threat to our community,” McCormick said in a statement. “We will work with our partners to remove these devices, and those who are manufacturing and selling them, from our streets.”
