Driver indicted for possession of a machinegun

ATLANTA - Floyd Barrow has been indicted for illegal possession of a machinegun. During a routine traffic stop, officers from the Georgia Tech Police Department discovered a handgun that had been modified by a device typically used to convert a normally semiautomatic firearm into a fully automatic machinegun.

“Conversion devices such as Glock Switches pose a substantial danger to our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.  “The efforts of our local and federal law enforcement partners to remove these dangerous devices from our streets is critical, including through their leveraging of leads derived from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network to connect guns to other crime scenes.”

“This indictment demonstrates ATF and our partners continued dedication to identify the individuals who threaten the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Benjamin Gibbons.

According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the indictment, and other information presented in court: On or about April 8, 2023, Defendant Floyd Barrow allegedly possessed a Glock Model 22 handgun that had been converted into a machinegun. Specifically, a Glock Switch was attached to the gun to allow the weapon to fire automatically at a rate of 1,100-1,200 rounds per minute with a single pull of the trigger.

After Georgia Tech police officers confiscated the gun, ATF test fired the firearm and logged the spent shell casings in the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (“NIBIN”). A search of the NIBIN database revealed that the pistol had been discharged at least twice in the San Francisco Bay area in 2021 and 2022.

Floyd Barrow, 34, of Marietta, Georgia, was indicted on July 18, 2023.  Members of the public are reminded that an indictment only contains charges.  The defendant is presumed innocent of the charge in this case, and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Charles Beaulieu and Theodore S. Hertzberg are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016.  The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.