Chicago Man Charged with Selling Illegal Machine Gun Conversion Devices
An 18-year-old Chicago man, Dakotah Malatore, is facing federal charges for selling two machine gun conversion devices to an undercover agent. The devices, commonly known as “Glock switches,” are illegal modifications that can convert pistols into fully-automatic machine guns.
The criminal complaint alleges that Malatore was fully aware of the devices’ capabilities, as he mentioned to the agent that they would make a gun sound like a machine gun by saying it would go “brrr.”
The undercover agent came across the devices in an Instagram post on the account “mr.tiponurtongue.” The post featured a video showing two firearms on a bed, one of which was equipped with a Glock switch. The agent expressed interest in purchasing the devices through coded language like “buttons” and “switch.”
On April 30, the agents arranged to meet Malatore, who went by the name “Rico,” in a 7-Eleven parking lot on West Belmont. Malatore offered to sell two switches for $400, one for a Glock handgun and the other for an AR-style pistol, claiming that it would make the AR go “brrrr.”
After the transaction, the agents identified Malatore through a mugshot in the Chicago Police Department database and confirmed his identity using his driver’s license photo. He is now facing charges for knowingly possessing and transferring machine guns.
