U.S. Attorney: Twin brothers on probation for modifying guns with auto sears caught with more guns
MINNEAPOLIS -- Twin brothers in the metro area have pleaded guilty after they were found to be in illegal possession of firearms and ammunition while being on probation for a separate weapons conviction, according to officials.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Quantez Demarco Ward and Cortez Demario Ward, both 19 years old, pleaded guilty on Monday to illegal possession of a firearm as a felon and illegal possession of ammunition as a felon, respectively.
At the beginning of the year, both brothers were charged in Hennepin County District Court for modifying firearms with auto sears. They pleaded guilty to those charges and were released on terms of probation, court documents show.
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"An auto sear, also known as a switch, is a device used to convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic firearm and is considered a machine gun under federal law," the attorney's office said in a release.
Then, in May, the brothers were pulled over by the Maple Grove Police Department in a traffic stop. During that stop, Cortez Ward was found to be in possession of a Polymer 80 pistol loaded with a 19-round extended magazine, officials said. Two months later, authorities executed a federal arrest warrant at the brothers' residence and located numerous weapons, including two rifles and a pistol.
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Quantez Ward's guilty plea was in connection to the firearms recovered during the arrest warrant, while Cortez Ward's guilty plea was in connection to ammunition recovered during the traffic stop in May. Their sentencing dates have not been set.
Last year, WCCO's Reg Chapman reported on the increasing prevalence of auto sears in Twin Cities neighborhoods. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says the agency is actively looking for people who illegally turn legal firearms into machine guns.
Watch that report below:
Anonymous tips can be submitted to the ATF through the Report It mobile app or by visiting the Report It website. When submitting a tip select ATF-St Paul Field Division as the reporting agency.