Yesterday morning, Springfield Police Officers were called into action by a ShotSpotter alert, a high-tech system designed to detect gunfire, which ultimately led to the recovery of an illegal automatic firearm and the arrest of 25-year-old Devin Garcia. The Springfield Police Department reported that the incident unfolded around 4:05 a.m., when the ShotSpotter system activated on Oak Grove Avenue, quickly leading to a chain of events that identified a suspect vehicle with the aid of city cameras.
As the crime-fighting saga continued, detectives from the Springfield Police Real-Time Analysis Center (R-TAC) enhanced the response by providing a snapshot of the suspect's vehicle, which was located on State Street and had been reported stolen. After locating the vehicle in a parking lot on the 600 block of State Street, officers encountered two suspects; one suspect managed to evade capture, while Garcia was not as fortunate. The subsequent search of the car resulted in the seizure of the aforementioned firearm, equipped with a so-called Glock switch—a device that transforms a standard pistol into a fully automatic weapon.
The encounter with Garcia led to multiple charges being levied against him. Garcia, who hails from Chicopee, now faces serious accusations including possession of a machine gun, carrying a firearm without a license, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, among other charges related to drug violations, resisting arrest, and receiving a stolen motor vehicle, according to the Springfield Police Department.
