Haltom City teen faces 10 years in prison for selling Glock switches
HALTOM CITY, Texas - An 18-year-old Haltom City man could spend up to 10 years in federal prison for selling Glock switches, devices that can allow pistols to mimic machine guns.
His prosecution is part of Operation Texas Kill Switch, a statewide initiative to combat this rise in conversion devices that only began four months ago.
This case all began out of a mobile home in Haltom City.
Investigators say an undercover agent met up at a mobile home park with an 18-year-old who was selling firearms along with machine gun conversion devices known as ‘switches.’
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Glock switches allow pistols to function as automatic weapons and are illegal modifications.
18-year-old Juan Angel Rendon was seen in a quick clip posted to his social media randomly opening fire out of a moving vehicle using a switch-equipped handgun.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas released the video Friday after Rendon pleaded guilty this week in federal court to illegal possession of a machine gun.
"You can imagine somebody is holding their hand, sticking it out the window, how hard it would be to control that," said Brian Garner, Dallas ATF assistant special agent in charge. "Those bullets don’t have a name. They keep going until they hit something."
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In the Rockwall case, the suspect bought packages from China that appeared to just be filled with household items. In the Dallas case, the ATF says a known gang member murdered someone with a Glock switch modification.
In late summer, investigators started tracking Rendon, who was advertising Glock switches for sale on his Instagram.
An ATF agent posed as a buyer in August and visited Rendon’s mobile home to purchase a "9-millimeter caliber pistol" and a switch for $900.
Court documents say Rendon even showed the agent how to use it.
"It’s one of the most dangerous things I’ve seen in my law enforcement career," Garner said. "Because you see machine guns in the past, and you think rifles and things like that. These are machine guns people can put in their waistbands."
Rendon was arrested in September and indicted in October.
After pleading guilty, Rendon faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
Inside Rendon’s mobile home, ATF agents found nine firearms; two of those were equipped with switches along with seven additional switches and switch parts.
Garner has a message to anyone else looking to sell Glock switches.
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"We are going to prosecute these guys," he said. "People who are out there selling these things, just know you might be selling it to an undercover agent, and you might go to jail."
The U.S. attorney’s office also says at least two of the firearms linked to Rendon were involved in two shootings in the Fort Worth area.
The Department of Justice doesn’t typically release mugshots until after sentencing.
Rendon’s sentencing is set for February.