A 24-year-old St. Louis man is facing multiple felony charges after police say he led officers on a high-speed chase through city streets in a stolen Hyundai Sonata before he was caught carrying a Glock 20 pistol fitted with an illegal auto-sear switch. Kenny Edwards was taken into custody after officers found the car abandoned in an alley in the 2900 block of James Cool Papa Bell Avenue, according to court records.
According to a probable cause statement cited by FOX 2, officers on patrol spotted the white Hyundai Sonata on August 31 and tried to get behind the vehicle. The driver allegedly sped away, running multiple stop signs and red lights and driving on the shoulder to get around a Metro bus. Police said Edwards led officers on the chase through St. Louis city streets before the Hyundai turned up parked in the alley, and officers reported that he initially ignored commands to stop before complying.
Officers saw Edwards walking away from the vehicle while holding his waistband, and he reportedly told them he had a gun in his waistband. According to court records, he had installed the auto-sear switch himself after purchasing it, and he admitted he knew the switch allowed the pistol to fire automatically. Police recovered the Glock 20 fitted with the auto-sear switch, along with a spare magazine loaded with ammunition, and investigators say ammunition recovered from the Hyundai matched what was found with the firearm.
A Machine Gun Under Federal Law
An auto-sear, commonly called a Glock switch, is classified as a machine gun under federal law regardless of whether it's actually installed on a firearm, and simple possession carries a statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison, per the Spodek Law Group. The Glock 20 is a large-frame semi-automatic pistol chambered in 10mm Auto, and fitting it with an aftermarket switch allows it to fire at rates exceeding 1,000 rounds per minute, according to testimony compiled by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services.
At the state level, Edwards is charged with unlawful possession of an illegal weapon, a charge that under Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.020 covers conversion devices that violate federal machine gun laws and is classified as a Class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to Rose Legal Services. Because Edwards is a convicted felon, he also faces a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm, which under Missouri Revised Statutes § 571.070 is a Class C felony carrying three to 10 years in state prison and fines up to $10,000, per Justia Law. He is additionally charged with resisting arrest, a charge that Missouri Revised Statutes § 575.150 elevates to a Class E felony carrying up to four years in prison when the flight is by motor vehicle and creates a substantial risk of serious injury, according to Rose Legal Services.
A Stolen Car With Familiar Damage
Court records describe the Hyundai as having a damaged ignition column with exposed wires, along with damage commonly associated with stolen Hyundai vehicles. The pattern matches a well-documented vulnerability: design flaws in 2015–2021 Hyundai and Kia models allowed thieves to bypass ignition columns with basic tools, a defect that drove theft insurance claims up more than 1,000 percent nationwide between 2020 and 2023, according to Pinkerton. St. Louis has felt that surge acutely, ranking second among major U.S. cities for motor vehicle thefts per capita in 2025 FBI data, with 1,172.1 thefts per 100,000 residents and 3,260 stolen vehicles recorded, per American Trucks.
Edwards reportedly tried to enter a nearby home before his arrest. He is scheduled for a first court appearance Thursday in St. Louis Circuit Court, and he is facing several felony charges tied to the weapon, the vehicle and the encounter with officers.
Part Of A Broader Crackdown In North St. Louis
The block where the Hyundai was found is not new to federal scrutiny over auto-sear devices. Federal prosecutors in St. Louis announced in March that a suspect had pleaded guilty to federal gun charges after officers caught him three separate times — including once in the same 2900 block of James Cool Papa Bell Avenue — holding handguns equipped with machine-gun conversion devices, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The arrest also follows months of intensified federal and local attention to illegal firearms in the metro area. In July, the ATF Kansas City Field Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri launched the “Don't Lie for the Other Guy” campaign in St. Louis, targeting straw purchases and the flow of illegally acquired crime guns, as Hoodline previously reported. And in May, St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers detained three 17-year-olds in the Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood after responding to rapid automatic gunfire and spotting armed teens running through the streets, a case Hoodline also covered at the time. Whether federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Missouri will add machine-gun charges to Edwards's state case remains an open question.
