July 31, 2025
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Philadelphia police and Homeland Security Investigations officers arrested two men who allegedly picked up a package of illegal gun switches shipped from China on Tuesday, authorities say.
Two men from North Philadelphia were arrested Tuesday with a package from China containing illegal gun switches, the devices used to convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said.
Philadelphia police and Homeland Security Investigations officers stopped Michael Rodriguez and Khalil Jenkins, both 19, in their car after picking up the package on their way to a home in North Philadelphia, investigators said. Inside the package, police found 11 gun switches hidden inside toy boxes. Marijuana also was found in the car, police said.
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When authorities later searched the suspects' home on North Warnock Street, they said they found marijuana that had been packaged for resale, a loaded handgun equipped with a switch and a fully automatic rifle.
“These illegal devices are designed to maximize death and destruction, and have no place in civilized society,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement Thursday.
Sometimes called machine gun conversion devices, switches are small tools designed to alter the mechanics of the trigger bar on a semi-automatic pistol. When attached to the rear slide of a handgun, they prevent the trigger from catching on the firing pin so that holding the trigger with one pull will continuously fire rounds. The recoil often makes gunfire uncontrolled and increases the risk of striking unintended targets.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said last year that a growing number of crime scenes for shootings have shown ballistics evidence consistent with the use of switches.
"Even if we don't have guns or any suspects, simply seeing 50 different cartridge casings coming from three different guns is a hint that all of them or at least some of them have a switch," Krasner said.
Officials from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives say the proliferation of switches has been a national trend, and the devices are often cheaply made and shipped to the United States from foreign countries. The accessibility of 3D printing also has enabled easier manufacturing methods for switches.
Investigators did not say how they became aware of the package allegedly seized from Rodriguez and Jenkins.
Possession of a switch, even in the absence of a gun or a crime committed with one, can be punishable with a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. But not all cases involving switches are picked up by federal prosecutors. Philadelphia passed a law last year banning the production, purchase, sale or transfer of switches in the city. Pennsylvania does not have have a state law banning the devices.
Although switches are widely associated with Austrian firearm manufacturer Glock, the devices can be installed in a range of guns. New Jersey is one of three states that have sued Glock over claims that the company has failed to modify its weapons to stop the use of switches.
Rodriguez and Jenkins are each charged with two counts of possession of offensive weapons and two counts of possessing an instrument of crime. They also face felony drug-trafficking charges. They were arraigned Tuesday with bail set at $750,000 for Rodriguez and $500,000 for Jenkins. The case will be prosecuted by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.
