Indianapolis detectives say a 16-year-old linked to a run of business burglaries on the city’s northwest side is now in custody after officers tracked a vehicle and pulled four guns, including converted weapons, off the street. The car was parked in the 5600 block of Dollar Forge Drive near Mann Road and West Epler Avenue when officers moved in. Investigators report that two of the firearms were outfitted with illegal machine-gun conversion devices. A 14-year-old and three adult men were also detained as part of the same operation, which unfolded after detectives chased down surveillance leads and witness tips.
According to WTHR, IMPD detectives opened the case after a series of business break-ins that started in April. The station reports that officers used video footage, witness statements and forensic evidence to identify the 16-year-old before executing the operation that led to the gun seizure. WTHR adds that preliminary allegations for the juveniles include possession of a machine gun and dangerous possession of a firearm by a minor, while several adults face preliminary machine-gun possession accusations.
Weapons and conversion devices
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana explains that conversion devices, often called “Glock switches” or auto-sears, attach to semiautomatic handguns and can turn them into fully automatic weapons. Those small pieces of metal or plastic “are themselves considered machine guns under federal law,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office notes, and recent federal prosecutions in Indianapolis have specifically targeted people caught with the switches.
How investigators connected the cases
IMPD detectives say they zeroed in on the 16-year-old using a combination of surveillance video, witness accounts and forensic leads, then tracked down and stopped a vehicle where four guns were ultimately recovered, according to WTHR. The outlet reports that two of those weapons were fitted with conversion devices and that both juveniles and adults were taken into custody on preliminary weapons and drug allegations.
What prosecutors and police say
Federal and local officials have been treating cases involving conversion devices as high-priority work because of the firepower that converted handguns can unleash. Similar seizures in Indianapolis have resulted in both federal charges and state prosecutions, and IMPD leaders have credited task-force efforts with getting these guns out of neighborhoods. “We will never know what type of violence this investigation may have prevented,” Chief Randal Taylor said in coverage by WRTV.
What’s next
The investigation is still active, and prosecutors will review the case before deciding on any formal filings. IMPD says detectives are continuing to follow leads tied to the burglary series and are asking anyone with information to contact police.
