What began as a regular traffic check in Hancock County rapidly turned into a high-stakes gun grab, with deputies claiming they pulled over a Ford Focus and confiscated a Glock pistol fitted with a suspected machine gun conversion device. Deputies reported hearing automatic-style gunfire nearby and later discovered a second handgun, which authorities say had been reported stolen out of Marion County. Following the search, two people in the car were ordered out and taken into custody.
Hancock County deputies say they stopped the Ford Focus in the 3700 block of County Road 800 West and ordered both occupants, a 17-year-old boy and 18-year-old Derrick Damont Abernathy of Indianapolis, to get out.
According to authorities, the juvenile was taken to the Madison County juvenile detention center, and Abernathy was booked into the Hancock County Jail.
Deputies reported smelling marijuana and discovered a Glock 17C equipped with a device for converting it to a machine gun, as well as a spent cartridge casing that would not eject. They also discovered a Glock 19 Gen4 with a blue rubber grip, which Carmel police said was reported stolen out of Marion County. The Greenfield Reporter reported that an initial hearing in Hancock Circuit Court took place on June 25.
Under federal law, items intended to transform a semiautomatic rifle into a fully automatic weapon are classified as machine guns. The Legal Information Institute summarizes 26 U.S.C. §5845, which contains the relevant definition. The designation means that simply possessing a conversion device might result in federal felony charges, even if the part was never put on a firearm.
According to a press statement from the United States Attorney’s Office, prosecutors in past cases have pursued charges related to conversion devices and obtained convictions, demonstrating how these small pieces of metal can cause serious legal consequences.
Prosecutors in Hancock County charged Abernathy with a Level 4 felony crime of operating a loaded machinegun, a Level 5 felony count of machinegun possession, and a Class B misdemeanor case of marijuana possession. The case is still in its early stages, with the defendant being kept in the county jail. According to authorities, the child has been placed in a Madison County institution.
According to court records obtained by the Greenfield Reporter, an initial hearing was held in Hancock Circuit Court on June 25.
State prosecutors will decide how the case proceeds and whether detectives from other jurisdictions should be involved, as both conversion devices and stolen firearms frequently attract multijurisdictional scrutiny. Federal cases involving Glock conversion devices have resulted in guilty pleas and prison terms in recent years, demonstrating how rapidly a small traffic stop can escalate into a bigger federal case, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
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