Dallas Gang Member Arrested With Switch Detained Pending Trial

A Dallas gang member arrested with a Glock equipped with a gold switch has been detained pending trial, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Johnny Bates, 19, was charged via criminal complaint with possession of a machinegun. He was arrested Nov. 7 and ordered detained pending trial after a hearing on Friday.

According to court documents, in December 2023, Mr. Bates was allegedly caught on video firing a pistol that appeared to be fully automatic. Police were unable to apprehend him, but recovered a switch-equipped Glock pistol along the path where he had fled.

In October 2024, Dallas Police Department detectives tracked Mr. Bates, a known "415 East Dallas Posse" gang member, to an apartment in Dallas's Oak Cliff neighborhood. Officers attempted to place him under arrest on outstanding warrants from the December 2023 incident, but he resisted. They wrestled him to the ground until backup arrived.

In his backpack, officers found a 9mm Glock pistol equipped with a gold switch and an extended magazine allegedly belonging to Mr. Bates:

A query of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) linked the Glock was to an aggravated assault that occurred in Dallas on Sept. 12. (Officers have no reason to believe Mr. Bates was involved in that incident, as a suspect has already been identified.)

At Friday's detention hearing, officers testified to Mr. Bates's alleged pattern of possessing machinegun conversion devices, offering images from his Instagram of firearms with switches attached and plainly visible.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Bates is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The Dallas Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives' Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Withers is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of "Operation Texas Kill Switch," a statewide initiative taking aim at machinegun conversion devices, also known as "switches," which transform commercially available semi-automatic firearms into fully-automatic weapons capable of firing faster than military-grade machine guns. Spearheaded by U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs and Jaime Esparza, Operation Texas Kill Switch relies on partnerships with state and local law enforcement as well as rewards offered by Crime Stoppers.