Source: Office of United States Attorneys
ST. LOUIS – A man from Maplewood, Missouri has been arrested on charges accusing him of selling machine gun conversion devices.
Tanario Darden, 22, was arrested Monday and pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two felony counts: transporting prohibited weapons without a license and transferring machine guns. He was indicted on those charges January 22.
The indictment says Darden transported and sold one or more machine guns between April 1, 2024, and August 30, 2024.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A motion seeking to have Darden held in jail until trial says he was using a social media account to sell machine gun conversion devices (MCDs).
MCDs, also known as switches or auto sears, convert a semi-automatic firearm into fully automatic weapon, which is defined as a machine gun under federal law.
“These highly dangerous devices can convert a run-of-the-mill firearm into a weapon of war, transforming a street corner into a combat zone, devastating entire communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Bernard G. Hansen of the ATF Kansas City Field Division.
The transporting prohibited weapons charge carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison. The machine gun charge carries a penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is 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.