Santa Rosa police say a months-long gun investigation just turned up a small arsenal, including a fully automatic Uzi, a Tech 9 and a stash of so-called Glock switches that officers allege were prepped for sale around Sonoma County.
Yesterday, the Santa Rosa Police Department reported that its Special Enforcement Team seized several firearms and multiple pistol conversion devices during coordinated search-warrant operations. A 19-year-old Vacaville resident was detained during the raid and later booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility.
Search Warrants Stretch From Concord To Vacaville
Officers with the Santa Rosa Police Department, joined by detectives and a K-9 unit, served search warrants in Concord and Vacaville, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department. Those operations led investigators to a house where they say they found the automatic weapons.
Police identified the suspect as 19-year-old Enzo Lafrades of Vacaville. Investigators say Lafrades tried to run and discarded a loaded, concealed Glock Model 26 that had been fitted with a conversion device. Officers detained him and arrested him at the scene.
A search of his vehicle turned up more trouble. Officers report finding four additional conversion devices packaged for resale, hidden inside a first-aid kit in the center console.
What Glock Switches Are, And Why Police Care
Law enforcement agencies describe Glock switches as small conversion parts that can turn a typical semi-automatic pistol into a weapon that fires continuously with a single pull of the trigger. Federal prosecutors have warned that these devices are increasingly easy to buy online, a trend that has police on edge.
California law treats these conversion parts, and any pistol that has been converted or is factory automatic, as machineguns, which carry felony penalties under state statute. The California Legislature outlines the machinegun law in Penal Code section 32625, and the Department of Justice has published background on federal cases involving conversion devices.
Weapons Counts Stack Up In SRPD Case
According to the Santa Rosa Police Department, Lafrades was booked on multiple weapons charges. That list includes a machinegun possession count under Penal Code section 32625, as well as allegations that he carried a concealed, loaded firearm in a vehicle and possessed a loaded, unregistered firearm in public.
Police logged the investigation under case number SRPD 26-3943 and said the Special Enforcement Team led the operation. Sgt. Matt White is listed in the release as the media contact.
Part Of A Broader Crackdown On Illegal Firepower
This is not the only big gun haul Santa Rosa police have talked about lately. The department has carried out several high-profile weapons raids in recent months as it steps up enforcement against ghost guns, conversion parts and illegal firearms sales. In February, an operation recovered more than 150 firearms, according to authorities, highlighting concerns about local trafficking and do-it-yourself weapons manufacturing that law enforcement agencies across California have been flagging.
CBS Bay Area reported on that February seizure and the Santa Rosa Police Department's broader investigative push.
Investigators are asking anyone with information related to the latest case to contact the Santa Rosa Police Department and reference case number SRPD 26-3943. Media inquiries are directed to Sgt. Matt White at [email protected]. The investigation remains active, and prosecutors are expected to review the seized evidence for possible formal charges.
