Florida man gets prison time for selling machinegun converting device to undercover agent
View of several semi-automatic weapons on display Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Miami, where federal agents announced a crackdown on weapons smuggling to Haiti. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
A Jacksonville man was sentenced to five years in prison for selling a device designed to convert a weapon into a machine gun to an undercover agent, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
Darnell Rice Jr, 28, pleaded guilty in August 2022 for selling a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) undercover agent a Glock "switch" which is designed to convert a pistol into a machinegun, allowing the pistol to shoot more than one round of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger.
On Nov. 30, 2021, the agent met with Rice outside his home and attempted to purchase two 9mm firearms. Rice told the agent it was too late in the day to sell the guns, so the agent asked about a Glock "switch," according to the DOJ.
The agent said he would buy the switch that day and a Glock pistol the next day for $1,800. Rice gave the agent the switch that same day.
The next day, Rice went to a federally licensed gun store and brought a Glock 9mm semiautomatic. While signing the paperwork, Rice falsely affirmed that he was the actual buyer of the pistol, the DOJ said.
On Dec. 9, 2022, multiple law enforcement groups drove to Rice's home to serve a search warrant. After searching the home, agents said they found a total of 23 guns and more than 3,400 rounds of ammunition in the home, a press release states.
Investigators said they discovered Rice had been using social media accounts to offer firearms and ammunition for sale and to communicate with customers. At one gun store location, Rice had spent $29,515 on 77 guns.