Tuscaloosa County Man Arrested in New York on Gun Charges

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Yesterday, federal agents arrested a Tuscaloosa County man in New York on gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

A three-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in January charges Darterrius Dewayne Washington, 23, of Woodstock, Alabama, with possession of a machine gun part, engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license, and making a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act.

According to the indictment, between August 2022 and October 2022, Washington engaged in the business of dealing firearms without a license.  During that time, Washington made a Swift Link, an AR-style machinegun conversion device, and also made a “Glock switch”,  a conversion device designed to illegally convert a semiautomatic Glock pistol into a fully automatic machine gun. 

ATF investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittney L. Plyler is prosecuting the case. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. 

An indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.