A 21-year-old Chicago man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after prosecutors say he turned Riis Park into the backdrop for a livestreamed stunt with a loaded handgun that had been illegally converted into a machine gun. Riding through the Northwest Side park, he showed off the weapon on camera, then fired a shot into the air before officers tackled him on the park’s football field when he crashed a moped while trying to run. Police later found the gun tucked in his pant leg.
U.S. District Judge Georgia N. Alexakis handed down a 24-month sentence and ruled that time the defendant spent in Cook County custody will not count toward his federal term, according to CWBChicago. Prosecutors had asked for a longer sentence, according to court papers and local reporting.
What prosecutors say
Federal charging documents state that the incident unfolded on May 14, 2025, when the defendant brought a loaded Glock 23 .40-caliber pistol to Riis Park that had been outfitted with a conversion device, often called a "switch," to fire automatically. Prosecutors say the gun also carried an extended magazine and a laser sight. According to the filings, he fired one round into the air before officers closed in.
When police approached, the defendant tried to bolt on a moped, lost control on the football field and was tackled by officers. The firearm was later recovered from his pant leg, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois.
Social media and the video evidence
Authorities leaned heavily on social media and bystander video to build the case. A witness flagged an Instagram account that prosecutors linked to the defendant, and federal agents obtained a warrant to search the account in July 2025. According to reporting, the account contained photos and videos of firearms, including at least one clip that appears to show someone explaining how to install a switch.
Bystander footage of the arrest in the park was widely shared and cited by prosecutors at sentencing, adding to the evidence arrayed against the defendant.
Part of a wider crackdown on 'switches'
This case is one piece of a broader federal and Chicago Police Department push to go after conversion devices that turn semiautomatic pistols into automatic weapons. The Chicago Sun-Times and other local coverage documented sizable seizures and dozens of arrests last year as officials tried to choke off the flow of so-called "Glock switches." Earlier Hoodline coverage also followed that sweep and the prosecutions that followed in Chicago neighborhoods.
Legal stakes
Possession of a machine gun, including a firearm altered with a conversion device, violates 18 U.S.C. § 922(o)(1) and carries a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Judges, however, weigh federal sentencing guidelines and other case-specific factors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois.
In this prosecution, federal filings and the sentencing order show investigators relied on ballistic testing, on-scene reports and the social media trail to argue their case. Prosecutors and investigators say the incident highlights why federal authorities have elevated cases involving conversion devices and related trafficking, an effort that local reporting notes is aimed at cutting the risk posed by those modified weapons in parks, public spaces and neighborhood streets.
