Armed Drug Trafficker Sentenced To Prison For Selling Glock Switch And Possessing Over 6,000 Fentanyl Pills

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - An armed drug trafficker was sentenced to prison today for selling a machinegun conversion device (or "Glock switch") and possessing over 6,000 fentanyl pills, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Jalein Young, 27, of Charlotte, was ordered to serve 138 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, joins U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.

According to court records, Young sold a firearm fitted with a Glock switch to an undercover law enforcement agent in 2024. The firearm was a Glock model 19 pistol converted from a semiautomatic weapon to one capable of fully automatic fire. In March 2024, Young agreed to sell 5,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover law enforcement agent. Investigators intercepted Young and found over 5,000 pills in his vehicle. A laboratory chemical analysis identified the pills to contain at least 504 grams of fentanyl. An additional 1,532 pills weighing approximately 358 grams were found in Young's garage. In late March 2024, Young contacted the undercover agent offering to sell 4,000 additional fentanyl pills. In May 2024, Young was arrested while trying to fly to the Dominican Republic on a one-way ticket.

Young pleaded guilty to transfer of a machinegun and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

He is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The ATF conducted the investigation.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.