Federal agents, prosecutors going after machine-gun conversion devices in Tennessee

By ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Federal law enforcement officials say 26 people in Tennessee have been recently convicted or face charges for possessing “switches,” devices that convert semi-automatic firearms into a machine guns. Kevin Ritz is the U.S. attorney in West Tennessee. He said federal investigators and local law enforcement officers in Memphis and Jackson have been trying to slow down the proliferation of switches as they work to stem a growing wave of gun violence. Seven of the 15 people who have been convicted of machine gun possession or other firearms-related crime have already received prison sentences of up to more 8 1/2 years.