Birmingham Man Indicted on Gun Charges

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal grand this week indicted a man on gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Mickey French.

A two-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges David Jermaine Lake, 31, of Vance, with possession of a machine gun and receipt of an unregistered firearm. 

According to the indictment, in March 2022, Lake illegally possessed a Glock 9mm pistol equipped with a “Glock switch” – an after-market device designed to illegally convert a semiautomatic Glock pistol into a fully automatic machine gun. 

The maximum penalty for possession of a machine gun is 10 years in prison.

The maximum penalty for receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm is 10 years in prison.

ATF investigated the case, along with the Hoover Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Royster 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. 

The conversion of the semiautomatic Glock pistol to a fully automatic machine gun causes the firearm to become inaccurate, spraying bullets everywhere, and increasing danger to innocent bystanders. If you know someone who has a Glock switch, you are asked to call law enforcement. Information about Glock switches can be reported to ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS or 1-888-283-8477.

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