Man who shot in self-defense gets prison for 3D-printed, full-auto 'switch' on his Glock

A man involved in a shooting in Oakley last year was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday because he used a Glock handgun illegally converted to fire fully automatic, federal prosecutors said.

Gionni Dews, 23, had walked away from his job at IHOP after a fight with a co-worker when someone started shooting at him, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

Dews was shot in the leg and then pulled out his modified Glock 19, a 9 mm handgun, and sprayed 20 rounds back at his assailant, prosecutors said. U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker said Dews fired in self-defense, but still broke the law.

Reports of several other cities have documented the new prevalence of these 3D-printed parts that can turn handguns from semiautomatic weapons to fully automatic weapons. Called a "switch," "chip" or auto sear, these illegal parts can be installed on some firearms in just minutes and made on nearly any 3D printer.

Once installed, the gun will fire in fully automatic mode. A semiautomatic handgun fires one round per trigger press, while these weapons will fire rapidly until the user lets go of the trigger or the gun runs out of ammunition.

The Trace, a nonprofit news organization focused on gun violence, reported in March these devices are becoming more common across the country and can cost as little as $20. From 2017 to 2021, the number of cases in the country jumped from 10 to 83, the organization said.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported that 120 of the devices have been confiscated in that city in the first nine months of 2022, compared to about a dozen last year and none in 2020.

At the time of this report, ATF officials and police in Cincinnati had not responded to requests for comment on the prevalence of the devices in Cincinnati.

In a press release Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney said his office will hold people accountable for these types of firearms regardless of how they are used.

Dews pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a machine gun in March.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Man gets prison sentence for full-auto 'switch' on his Glock