MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The U.S. Department of Justice announced the arrest of 10 people Tuesday, indicted on federal charges for gun and violent crimes in Memphis and West Tennessee.
Four of them, Wayne Sanders, 31; Myles Bowens, 22; Taveon Earnest, 20; and Actavious Ellis, 30, were arrested for possessing a Glock switch.
The DOJ worked with multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Memphis Police Department, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
As part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy meets with members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office on a weekly basis to determine what cases the feds can take over.
“I’m not surprised to see that four out of 10 have the Glock switches because Glock switches have become increasingly frequent,” Mulroy said.
The district attorney said the illegally-modified automatic handgun is becoming far too popular in Memphis.
“Obviously, the feds can’t take all of the gun cases,” Mulroy said. “They can’t take all of the Glock switch cases. The bulk of them have to be done by our office.”
Mulroy said they are making progress on that end, with possession of a Glock switch being part of his V11 Fast Track initiative that prioritizes certain cases to get faster trials.
“We’ve done a lot of those (Glock switch) cases,” D.A. Mulroy said. “We always had been but we’re really doing them now more. And we’re moving them along quicker.”
The District Attorney says he is also making progress on efforts to raise possession of a Glock switch from a Class E felony, punishable by one to two years in jail on the first arrest, to a Class C felony, which carries a minimum sentence of three-to-six-years.
Mulroy said he is working with the Tennessee District Attorneys Conference to lobby for this bill.
“There’s one more step to get the full approval of the body and then, knock wood, perhaps we’ll get some action done in the legislature next year,” he said.
But it’s a process that takes time.
“Every little bit helps but we still have a long way to go,” D.A. Mulroy said.