Repeat Offender Is Sentenced For Possession Of Firearms Fitted With Illegal Switches

Press Release

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Tomonta Simmons, 32, of Charlotte, N.C., was sentenced today to 70 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing firearms, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. The firearms were fitted with illegal machinegun conversion devices (MCDs) also known as "Glock Switches."

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement.

"Illegal guns in the hands of felons pose a serious threat to the community - a threat that is amplified when those guns are converted with devices capable of firing a hail of bullets in seconds," said U.S. Attorney King. "My office will continue to prioritize the safety of our communities and send a strong message to those who disregard our federal gun laws and put innocent lives at risk."

"These conversion devices are illegal to possess and extremely dangerous," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. "They pose a very serious threat and ATF will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to keep them off our streets."

According to court documents and court proceedings, on June 21, 2022, CMPD officers located Simmons sitting in the driver's seat of a vehicle parked in a parking lot. When law enforcement attempted to arrest Simmons on outstanding warrants, he did not comply. Instead, Simmons abruptly pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive through a residential neighborhood at a high rate of speed. CMPD officers followed Simmons, and observed the defendant get out of the vehicle near a residence and approach the front porch. Officers arrested Simmons in the yard.

Court records show that, after Simmons was arrested, CMPD officers retraced the path that Simmons took while he fled and located two handguns the defendant had discarded while driving. The first handgun was a 9mm caliber pistol, loaded with one round of ammunition in the chamber and fourteen rounds of ammunition in the magazine. The second handgun was a stolen 19x 9x19mm caliber pistol, loaded with one round of ammunition in the chamber and twenty-two rounds of ammunition in the extended magazine. According to court records, the ATF's Firearms Technology Branch determined that both firearms had a Glock Switch device installed. The installation of the Glock Switch device allows a conventional semi-automatic Glock pistol to function as a fully automatic firearm.

According to court documents, on September 12, 2022, CMPD officers attempting to arrest Simmons in connection with the firearms seized during the June incident located a rental vehicle driven by the defendant. During a search of the vehicle, officers recovered a semiautomatic pistol loaded with fifteen rounds of ammunition.

Simmons has prior criminal convictions, including a federal conviction in the Western District of North Carolina for conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

On February 9, 2024, Simmons pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Simmons is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

The investigation was conducted by the ATF and CMPD.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shavonn Bennette of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Updated November 7, 2024