A 14-year-old boy in Dover is facing a felony charge of possessing an operable machine gun after Hillsborough County Sheriff's detectives served a search warrant at a residence and say they found two firearms, one fitted with a machine gun conversion device, along with narcotics, boxes of THC vapes, and drug paraphernalia. Ismael Ibarra was arrested on Wednesday, alongside 31-year-old Leopoldo Escamilla, who was booked on separate drug charges.
According to a post from HCSO, detectives found the weapons and drugs during the search, which was carried out on September 2. Ibarra faces six charges in total: possession of an operable machine gun, importing, distributing, selling, or possessing a bump-fire stock, minor in possession of a firearm, minor in possession of a firearm as a second offense, armed possession of a controlled substance, and possession of cannabis sativa resin, per arrest records tied to the case. Escamilla was booked on possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Detectives served a search warrant at a residence in Dover and found firearms and narcotics. On September 2, 2026, #teamHCSO detectives found two firearms, one of which had a machine gun conversion device attached, narcotics, boxes of THC vapes, and drug paraphernalia. Ismael… pic.twitter.com/Gjj1wjgSBC
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) September 3, 2026
The machine gun charge against Ibarra carries some of the heaviest exposure a Florida minor can face outside a violent felony. Under Florida Statute § 790.221, possessing an operable machine gun is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison, 15 years of probation, and a $10,000 fine, according to Pumphrey Law. Florida law defines a machine gun as any firearm capable of firing more than one shot automatically without the shooter manually reloading between trigger pulls.
Bump-Fire Stock Charge Adds Separate Felony Exposure
Ibarra's bump-fire stock charge stems from a separate state law passed after the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. Under Florida Statute § 790.222, importing, selling, or possessing a bump-fire stock or any device designed to alter a firearm's rate of fire to mimic automatic fire is a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison, according to research compiled by Mid Bay News. Florida was among the first states to pass an independent statewide ban on rate-increasing firearm accessories, separate from any federal restriction.
The minor-in-possession charge listed as a second offense points to a prior firearm case for Ibarra, since Florida law treats repeat juvenile gun possession far more seriously than a first offense. Under Florida Statute § 790.22(3), a minor caught with a firearm for the first time faces a first-degree misdemeanor, but a second or subsequent offense escalates to a third-degree felony that carries a mandatory 15-day stay in a secure juvenile detention facility, according to the Sammis Law Firm. It remains an open question whether prosecutors will seek to move Ibarra's case out of juvenile court given that repeat-offender status.
Conversion Devices Draw Federal Attention Too
Beyond the state charges, machine gun conversion devices like the one found attached to one of the two firearms in Dover can also trigger federal prosecution. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(o) classifies devices such as Glock switches or auto sears as illegal machine guns in their own right, carrying potential federal prison sentences of up to 10 years regardless of whether the device is actually attached to a gun, as reported by Newsday. Federal prosecutors have frequently adopted cases involving conversion devices because of the strict federal prohibitions attached to them, though the dossier does not indicate whether federal charges have been filed or are being considered against Ibarra in this case.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has built specialized infrastructure to chase exactly this kind of case. In July 2021, the agency established its Gunfire Response Investigations Team, known as GRIT, to investigate non-fatal shootings, illegal weapons networks, and rapid-fire conversion devices in coordination with federal partners like the ATF, according to WGCU Public Media. The unit was formed after non-fatal shootings across the county jumped from 44 in 2019 to 72 in 2020.
Dover's Younger Population Amid a Recurring Pattern
Dover is an unincorporated community roughly 24 miles east of Tampa with a 2020 Census population of 3,266, and 34.1% of its residents are under the age of 18, according to Wikipedia — a notably higher share than many surrounding suburban Tampa communities. This is not the first time deputies have found illegal weapons or drugs in the small community this year. In July, HCSO detectives served a search warrant at a home on Pettie Road in Dover and arrested three men on drug charges, and a Hoodline report on that raid noted deputies had also uncovered a February search that recovered 11 conversion devices in the area.
The pattern extends to other nearby communities and to other teenagers. In August 2025, SWAT and detectives served a search warrant in nearby Wimauma and arrested a 17-year-old found with a Glock converted with a machine gun switch, short-barreled rifles, and narcotics, with Sheriff Chad Chronister warning publicly at the time that combining illegal firepower with drugs in teenage hands poses extreme peril. And in March, deputies arrested a 15-year-old student after he fled Strawberry Crest High School in Dover with a firearm, charging him with minor in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon.
The seizures in Dover also fit into a broader national trend. Recoveries of Glock switches across 17 surveyed U.S. cities jumped from 76 devices in 2020 to 558 in 2024, according to Everytown Research & Policy — a sharp increase tied to small, easily hidden metal or plastic pieces that can allow a pistol to fire more than 1,000 rounds per minute. It remains unclear from available records whether Escamilla supplied Ibarra with the weapons or vapes found during the search, and that question has not been publicly resolved by investigators.
