Fort Worth man charged with manufacturing, selling 3D-printed gadgets converting guns to machine guns

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth man has been federally charged after he allegedly manufactured and sold thousands of 3D-printed machine gun conversion devices to convert ordinary firearms into fully automatic machine guns. 

The suspect, Xavier Desean Watson, was charged with possession and transfer of machine guns. A news release stated he was arrested without incident in the parking lot of his apartment complex Thursday night. 

Three other conversion device sellers were charged earlier this year.

ATF agents seized more than 650 conversion devices, known as “switches” when installed in pistols and “sears” when installed in semi-automatic rifles, over the course of the investigation.

“As simple to manufacture as they are quick to install, conversion devices turn regular firearms into machineguns capable of inflicting tremendous harm in a few split seconds,“ said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham. “Imagine hardened criminals armed not only with pistols, potentially lethal in their own right but also with automatic firearms rivaling those carried by the U.S. military. These half-inch pieces of plastic are putting our people at risk. We cannot let these devices proliferate on our streets.”

James VanVliet, the acting special agent in charge of the ATF’s Dallas Field Division, said machine gun conversion devices pose a serious threat to public safety and have been increasingly used in violent crimes. 

Court documents show Fort Worth law enforcement saw a surge in shootings involving conversion devices earlier this year. 

The release said an undercover ATF agent bought 33 conversion devices and a 3D-printed AR-15 style pistol from Watson, who told the agent he could produce about 400 switches a day. 

Watson faces up to a decade in federal prison if he is convicted.