What started as a high-speed traffic stop on I-96 in May has turned into a federal machine-gun case, with investigators saying a tossed Glock pistol fitted with an illegal conversion device is now preliminarily tied to a Detroit shooting from late April. Michigan State Police troopers and ATF agents say the modified Glock was thrown from a speeding vehicle, then recovered with a loaded extended magazine and a blue machine-gun conversion device still bolted to the back. The man named in federal filings, Henry Leon Hutchinson Jr., is facing federal charges and is being held ahead of a Detroit court appearance set for this fall.
Chase, Toss, And Recovery
On May 5, a trooper reported spotting a black Nissan speeding eastbound on I-96 and trying to pull it over. Instead of stopping, the driver allegedly hurled an object from the driver’s-side window toward the freeway shoulder. When troopers searched the grass, they say they found a Glock 19 with a loaded extended magazine and a blue machine-gun conversion device still attached.
License-plate reader footage captured a similar black Nissan near the Grand River exit, and investigators say rental records show the car was rented for May 4–6 in the name of the suspect’s mother. Preliminary cell-phone location data then placed the suspect’s phone in the area of both the attempted traffic stop and the April shooting.
According to federal investigators, preliminary ballistics work linked shell casings from the recovered Glock to a shooting on April 29, while ShotSpotter audio from that incident flagged what sounded like a “potential machine gun” being fired, according to ClickOnDetroit.
Why The Device Matters
The tiny aftermarket parts often called “Glock switches,” or auto-sears, can turn a semi-automatic pistol into something capable of fully automatic fire. ATF officials say that jump in rate of fire and lethality is exactly why they are treating the parts like a major public-safety problem, not a novelty add-on.
The bureau has elevated conversion-device cases in recent years, going after manufacturers, sellers and traffickers as part of a broader push to trace crime guns and link them to specific shootings. Federal technical and enforcement work, including ballistics tracing and multi-agency task forces, is frequently used to connect recovered converted pistols to earlier violent incidents. For more on how those cases play out, see the recent press release from the ATF.
Federal Law And Penalties
Under the National Firearms Act, the legal definition of “machinegun” explicitly covers any part or combination of parts “for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun,” language that appears in 26 U.S.C. § 5845. That means the conversion device itself is treated as a firearm under federal law, so simply possessing one can trigger federal charges.
In prior Eastern District of Michigan prosecutions, federal lawyers have pointed out that unlawful machine-gun possession counts can carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison, highlighting how much legal risk comes with a small metal part. The statutory definition can be read at 26 U.S.C. § 5845, and an example of how such charges are brought appears in this release from the Justice Department.
Seen Elsewhere
Police around the country keep flagging the same pattern, suggesting Detroit is dealing with a national problem, not a one-off. Recent local cases reported by Hoodline include an Aurora traffic stop where officers say they found a Glock wearing a switch, and a Cincinnati federal case focused on alleged sales of conversion devices. Both started small, then ballooned into full-blown federal investigations.
Those kinds of stops help explain why ATF, U.S. attorneys and local partners are putting so much emphasis on finding these parts and tracing any gun they touch back to shooting scenes whenever possible. That paper trail often decides whether a case stays in state court or jumps to the federal level. For more, see Hoodline's coverage of an Aurora traffic stop and a Cincinnati Glock switch bust, on Hoodline.
What’s Next
Federal court filings say investigators believe the recovered Glock is connected to the Detroit shooting and that Henry Leon Hutchinson Jr. is being held in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, while the case moves forward. He is scheduled to appear in Detroit federal court on September 11.
The case remains under investigation by ATF and state partners as prosecutors work up charging decisions and additional filings, according to ClickOnDetroit. More documents and hearing dates are expected as the case winds its way through federal court this fall.
