Dallas police say the Gang Unit has finally put a name and a face to a summer of fear, arresting 21-year-old Nehemiah Drake on February 11, in connection with a string of drive-by shootings that shook several Dallas neighborhoods in June 2024. Drake was booked on three counts of deadly conduct for discharging a firearm and one prohibited-weapon charge, all filed as third-degree felonies. Investigators say a pistol pulled from a crashed stolen car was outfitted with a machine-gun conversion device and forensically tied to the shooting scenes.
Detectives say the chaos started on June 11, 2024, when unknown suspects opened fire from a vehicle at three different locations in under an hour: the 6800 block of Nandina Drive, the 1400 block of McKenzie Street and the 4200 block of Willow Springs Lane. Nearly 300 rounds were sprayed across those scenes, according to investigators. A follow-up incident on June 23, 2024, in the 3300 block of Junction Street led officers to a crashed stolen car, where they say they found the pistol with the conversion device. Ballistic testing then linked that weapon to the June 11 shootings. The investigations are documented under case numbers 090090-2024, 090088-2024, 090105-2024 and 096524-2024, according to the Dallas Police Department.
Major Andre Taylor, who commands the Tactical Investigations Division, publicly credited his team with taking a high-risk suspect off the street. "The safe apprehension of this violent impact offender reflects the Dallas Police Department’s unwavering commitment to public safety," he said. "If you put others in danger, you will be held accountable, no matter how long it takes to find you," Taylor added, per the Dallas Police Department.
The weapon and the wider trend
Machine-gun conversion devices, sometimes called "Glock switches" or auto-sears, can turn a semiautomatic pistol into a fully automatic weapon, and officials emphasize that they are illegal under federal law. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has been front and center in warning the public about both the dangers and the illegality of these devices, while federal and state prosecutors have launched targeted efforts to disrupt how they are bought, sold and moved. ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Texas have announced coordinated initiatives focused on getting conversion devices out of circulation.
Charges and legal stakes
According to police, Drake’s deadly-conduct counts are based on allegations that he discharged a firearm at or toward people or occupied buildings or vehicles, conduct that Texas treats as a third-degree felony when the shooter is reckless about whether the target is occupied. Under Texas law, a third-degree felony carries a potential prison sentence of two to ten years, plus a fine of up to $10,000. See Texas Penal Code §22.05 and §12.34 for the statutory details.
What comes next
The Gang Unit says its work is not done and the investigation is still active as the cases move into the Dallas County court system. Prosecutors will review the file and decide how to formally charge the case while detectives continue to build out the evidence. Neighbors, who watched their streets turned into shooting galleries in 2024, say the arrest underscores how worried many Dallas residents remain about gunfire coming from passing cars.
