Man Sentenced to Prison for Possessing a Firearm Fitted with a Glock Switch

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A Charlotte man was sentenced to prison yesterday for illegally possessing a firearm fitted with a machinegun conversion device commonly known as a "Glock switch," announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Shyheem Jaqun DuPont, 24, was ordered to serve 30 months in prison, followed by three 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, and Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) joined U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.

"Glock switches turn a regular gun into a machine gun. They can turn a violent act into a catastrophic act in mere seconds," said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. "We save lives by aggressively prosecuting individuals who possess and use these illegal conversion devices."

According to court documents and court proceedings, on February 21, 2024, CMPD officers initiated a traffic stop of DuPont's vehicle as it parked in a parking lot. DuPont, who was in the driver's seat, was the registered owner of the vehicle and had multiple outstanding felony arrest warrants. Court records show that DuPont reversed his car into the marked police vehicle, striking it. DuPont then drove forward before reversing again and striking the marked police vehicle a second time. As CMPD officers approached DuPont's vehicle, they observed a firearm on the defendant's lap. One of the officers removed the firearm, a black Glock, Model 19, 9mm semiautomatic firearm, with a 31-round capacity magazine, and a Glock switch. Elsewhere in the vehicle, the officers found a black Glock, Model 20, 10mm semiautomatic firearm, a black Springfield, Model XD-M, 10mm semi-automatic firearm, a 9mm 50-round capacity drum magazine, a Del-Ton Model DTI 15, 5.56mm semiautomatic pistol, marijuana, and a digital scale.

On April 11, 2025, DuPont pleaded guilty to possession of a machinegun. He is in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

The ATF and CMPD investigated the case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William Wiseman with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.