South Side Man Brags About Illegal Machine Gun-Switch On Facebook: ATF

CHICAGO — A South Side man alleged to have bragged on social media, “I 3 shot bursted dat bitch flawless switch” about his machine gun conversion device, was arrested and charged last week in federal court.

Federal agents executed a search warrant last Thursday at LaTavion Johnson’s Englewood apartment, where law enforcement officers discovered a conversion device in a tool bag in Johnson’s bedroom, according to a federal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

When equipped on a firearm, the conversion device, also known as a “Glock switch” or “auto sear,” allows the gun to fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger, much like a machine gun.

From February 2024 to October 2024, ATF agents monitored Johnson’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, where he had posted photos and videos under the nickname “Lil Tavi,” the feds said.

Records recovered from Meta Inc. in a search warrant showed Johnson in a video he allegedly posted on Facebook in February. In his video, federal agents said Johnson handles what appeared to be a firearm fitted with a gold MCD, or machine gun conversion device. Johnson reportedly stated "switchy, this thing a bitch," meaning it was easy to push.

Earlier this month, at 9:46 p.m. on Oct. 9, federal agents allege that Johnson posted photos and video of himself on Instagram, including apparent displays of a semi-automatic firearm and twenty-dollar bills fanned across a blue-hooded sweatshirt, along with an apparent auto sear or switch.

On Oct. 17, ATF agents executed a search warrant at an apartment building in the 600 block of West Englewood. In a bedroom with “Lil Tavi” labeled on the door, agents said they found an NCD in a tool bag on the windowsill next to a blue-hooded sweatshirt.

According to the complaint, “Johnson confirmed, in summary, that Johnson is familiar with MCDs and their ability to convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic firearms and that the MCD recovered from Johnson’s bedroom was Johnson’s and that he knew it was designed to convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm.”

Johnson, 22, is charged with one count of possession of a machine gun, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison if convicted. He was arrested Friday and remains in custody. A detention hearing is set for Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will seek Johnson’s continued pre-trial detention.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted in coordination with ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago, a centralized law enforcement hub that focuses exclusively on investigating and preventing gun violence in Chicago and throughout northern Illinois. Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is also a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy.