EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Prosecutors are accusing an Arizona man of selling a rifle and 17 unregistered machine-gun conversion devices to a federal informant.
The charges filed Monday against Jose Francisco Rendon in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona reflect a stepped-up federal offensive against distributors of simple-looking devices that can turn a semi-automatic gun or rifle into a lethal, rapid-fire killing machine.
Husband, wife held on firearms trafficking charges in Texas
Court records show Rendon late last year sold an AR-15 style rifle not registered to him to an informant working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). During the transaction, Rendon allegedly told the informant he also has machine-gun conversion devices for sale.
Rendon on Nov. 21 allegedly delivered to the informant one such device, which was examined and found to permit firearms to fire continuously with a single press of the trigger.
US, Mexico to step up fight against cartel drones
On Nov. 26 and again on Dec. 18, Rendon allegedly sold to the informant six and 10 additional conversion devices, respectively…