EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Prosecutors are accusing an Arizona man of selling a rifle and 17 unregistered machine-gun conversion devices to a federal informant.
The charges filed Monday against Jose Francisco Rendon in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona reflect a stepped-up federal offensive against distributors of simple-looking devices that can turn a semi-automatic gun or rifle into a lethal, rapid-fire killing machine.
Court records show Rendon late last year sold an AR-15 style rifle not registered to him to an informant working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). During the transaction, Rendon allegedly told the informant he also has machine-gun conversion devices for sale.
Rendon on Nov. 21 allegedly delivered to the informant one such device, which was examined and found to permit firearms to fire continuously with a single press of the trigger.
On Nov. 26 and again on Dec. 18, Rendon allegedly sold to the informant six and 10 additional conversion devices, respectively.
The transactions took place in or near Tucson, Arizona.
Court records show Rendon has since been charged with selling 18 firearms without a license and possessing 17 unregistered machine guns. He faces a $10,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison if convicted. His initial appearance in federal court in Tucson is pending.
Federal officials last June conducted Operation Showdown in North Texas, leading to the arrest of 76 individuals and the seizure of 287 firearms including 147 machine-gun conversion devices. In October, the FBI in Houston announced the arrest of 64 people and the seizure of 339 machine-gun conversion devices.