A Dallas man has been convicted of selling illegal machinegun conversion devices, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas. The 20-year-old, Corey Wilson, was found guilty last Thursday by Senior United States District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn on charges related to possession of an unregistered machine gun on two separate occasions in 2023.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Wilson used his Instagram account to market the conversion devices designed for AR-platform rifles, which could enable them to discharge fully automatically. Despite the device's ability to be manufactured with inexpensively acquired materials, Wilson priced each unit at a steep $150. Undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, acting within the scope of "Operation Texas Kill Switch," approached Wilson and succeeded in purchasing devices from him on May 30 and June 6, 2023, after he demonstrated their "activation" process.
The conviction exposes a larger issue tackled by "Operation Texas Kill Switch," focusing on the proliferation of these machinegun conversion devices, also known as "switches." Such contraptions unlawfully convert semi-automatic firearms into automatic versions that can outpace even military-grade weapons in their rate of fire. Wilson's activities were specifically within the Project Safe Neighborhood area of Northeast Dallas, a territory grappling with violent crime and efforts to quell gun violence.
Wilson could face up to 10 years in federal prison for each charge he was convicted of, highlighting the serious penalties for firearms offenses. This case is also an important win for Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a partnership between law enforcement and local communities to reduce violence. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Withers, Walt Junker, and Elise Aldendifer handled the prosecution, sending a strong message to those considering breaking federal gun laws.
