"Switch Hitters"

Decent police work still gets done on occassion:

• When Alonzo Velasco sold an undercover officer machine-gun conversion devices outside his Chicago apartment building in the summer of 2023, he pointed out that he could get more — a whole lot more.

  According to federal prosecutors, Velasco delivered the officer nearly 20 tiny “switches” that turn handguns into fully automatic weapons that can fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull. They’ve been used in many mass shootings here in recent years.

  In a series of deals, the officer paid $5,250 for the switches, and Velasco said he could get dozens more from his supplier, according to court records. He also explained how the switches can turn handguns into “choppers,” slang for machine guns, the complaint said.

  [...] The investigation resulted in the recovery of 64 switch devices and 171 guns, many of which were linked to shootings, killings and other “violent criminal activity” dating back to 2017. The switches, officially known as “auto sears,” are also called buttons on the street.

The federal charges might put this guy away for a while.