Baltimore police responding to reports of a break-in at a multi-unit residential building ended up arresting a man they say was carrying a Glock pistol rigged with a device that let it fire like a machine gun. Michael Lemon will now spend six and a half years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to firearm charges tied to that encounter.
According to WBFF, officers were responding to multiple 911 calls describing a group of young men breaking into a multi-unit residential building when they spotted Lemon, who matched the description given in the calls. Police say Lemon hurried to start a motorbike as officers approached, but he was arrested before he could get away. The outlet reports the encounter happened on December 30, 2025, in Baltimore.
Once in custody, officers discovered Lemon was carrying a Glock pistol fitted with a machine-gun conversion device, commonly known as a “switch,” that allowed the weapon to fire automatically. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, in announcing the sentencing, described the moment this way: “Officers then apprehend Lemon and discovered that he possessed a Glock pistol. Additionally, there was a machinegun conversion device, sometimes referred to as a ‘switch,’ affixed to Lemon’s pistol which enabled the gun to fire automatically,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
What Lemon Pleaded Guilty To
Lemon was convicted of unlawful possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person, the federal statement notes. He will serve six and a half years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, per the same announcement.
These conversion devices are small, but their effect on a handgun is dramatic. The Banner reports that switches can make a semiautomatic pistol capable of firing at a rate of more than 1,000 rounds per minute, turning a standard handgun into something closer to a fully automatic weapon.
A Citywide Surge in Switches
Lemon’s case fits into a broader pattern authorities have flagged in Baltimore. The Banner reports that Baltimore Police recovered at least 59 machine-gun conversion devices in 2023, more than five times the number recovered the year before. That same reporting found that guns equipped with these auto-sear switches were connected to assaults, carjackings, burglaries and at least two homicides in the city during 2023.
The trend isn’t confined to Baltimore. Nationally, law enforcement recovered more than 5,400 machine-gun conversion devices between 2017 and 2021, the outlet’s reporting shows, while neighboring Howard County Police recovered four of the devices since the start of 2022.
Sentencing Guidelines Target Device Possession
Federal sentencing guidelines have specifically addressed how courts should weigh conversion-device cases. Amendment 834 from the United States Sentencing Commission provides for a two-level sentencing enhancement for possessing four or more machine-gun conversion devices, or for transferring, selling, attempting or conspiring to transfer or sell even one. Possessing 30 or more devices triggers a four-level enhancement under the same guideline.
Federal authorities have also pursued broader trafficking networks tied to these devices. The ATF says four Baltimore County residents allegedly sold an undercover officer 24 firearms between October 2021 and January 2022, including 20 ghost guns along with two confirmed and eight suspected machine-gun conversion devices.
