Switch Dealer Pleads Guilty to Possessing Machinegun

Press Release

A switch dealer who shot a machinegun out the window of a moving vehicle on a public highway pleaded guilty to a federal firearm crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Juan Angel Rendon, 18, was charged via criminal complaint in September and indicted the following month. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday to illegal possession of a machinegun.

"As we said when we launched Operation Texas Kill Switch, machinegun conversion devices are putting our communities in danger. This defendant's conduct - shooting a switch-equipped handgun out of a moving vehicle for no apparent reason - is case in point," said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. "Weapons of war belong on the battlefield, not the streets North Texas streets. The U.S. Attorney's Office will relentlessly pursue anyone who manufactures, sells, or possesses machinegun conversion devices."

"The brazenness of Mr. Rendon shown here does not surprise me. We are seeing similar videos all around the country which is why ATF is doubling down on our unwavering commitment to stopping the spread of machinegun conversion devices. We commend all our law enforcement partners across the region as we work together in this fight. Firing a machinegun wildly in public, while being filmed, may have made Mr. Rendon feel like a gangster that evening. However, he will now have plenty of time in prison to think about how isn't a modern-day Capone" stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

According to court documents, Mr. Rendon sold a 9mm Glock pistol equipped with a machinegun conversion device, colloquially known as a "switch," to an undercover ATF agent on Aug. 27, 2024.

During the purchase, which occurred at his mobile home, Mr. Rendon explained to the undercover agent how to install and operate the machinegun conversion device so the gun would fire full auto.

At a detention hearing last month, agents testified that Mr. Rendon advertised Glock switches for sale on his Instagram. At the hearing, prosecutors played a video from Mr. Rendon's Instagram account showing him firing a switch-equipped Glock out the window of a moving vehicle on a public highway, with cars visibly passing by in the distance.

When he was arrested in September, agents recovered nine firearms, including two equipped with switches, and seven additional switches or switch parts.

A query of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) linked firearms he possessed to two shootings in the Fort Worth area.

Mr. Rendon now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives' Dallas Field Division - Fort Worth Resident Agency conducted the investigation with assistance from the Fort Worth and Haltom City Police Departments and the Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Beck 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.

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Updated October 25, 2024