A joint effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement led to the arrest of eight people in Lubbock on Wednesday. State and local officials are using the takedown to underline issues with stolen guns, modified weapons, and enforcing current gun laws in Texas.
The operation started with drug trafficking allegations in Lubbock from confidential informants. Local investigators eventually brought on the help of state and federal agents with departments like the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Homeland Security investigations.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton, said the bust was part of “Project Safe Neighborhoods,” which she described as a cooperative effort between all levels of law enforcement and prosecutors to get to the root of the community’s “most significant drivers of violence.”
Despite a reduction reported by Lubbock Police in violent crime rates last year, many continue to be concerned about gun violence in Lubbock, especially the number of cases involving teens.
Simonton said the purpose of this operation was to target “repeat offenders.” Four of the eight individuals arrested were charged as previously convicted felons in possession of a firearm.
“I want the felons in this community to know that we do not hesitate to take cases federal and to charge them federally if they have a gun and they're not supposed to,” Simonton said.
Simonton said felon in possession of a firearm is one of the “most powerful charges” from the attorney’s office.
“We actually have one of the most active firearms charging practices in the entire country; we are usually ranked within the top five and sometimes number one for the amount of firearms cases that are charged federally,” Simonton said. “That includes a bulk of what we're charging in this takedown.”
As well as 12 firearms, over 900 grams of methamphetamine, two ounces of cocaine and more than 10 pounds of marijuana were seized in the arrests. Sara Abel, with the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said one gun seized was previously used in a crime, and another was equipped with a “switch” trigger modification.
Abel described the modification as a four-inch piece of plastic that “looks almost like a Lego,” which can be attached to the trigger of a gun to convert the weapon from semi-automatic to fully automatic.
“That means that instead of having to pull the trigger every time to fire a shot, a shooter can pull the trigger just once, and the gun will continuously shoot until the magazine is emptied,” Abel said.
In June, U.S. attorneys across Texas announced their effort for the summer to address illegal conversion devices. Between 2017 and 2023, Texas-based ATF agents seized 991 switches.
“The proliferation of these devices is affecting the safety of citizens and law enforcement officers, and not just in big cities like Dallas or Houston,” Abel said.
Local law enforcement highlighted the issue of stolen guns in Lubbock and a need for responsible gun ownership.
Out of the 12 firearms seized in the bust, two of them were found to be stolen.
According to Lubbock Police, 698 guns were stolen in Lubbock in 2023, and almost 300 of them were stolen from vehicles.
Chief Seth Herman with the Lubbock Police said his department “wholeheartedly” supports the Second Amendment and “encourages” citizens to defend themselves.
“But with that right comes an invaluable and necessary responsibility to ensure that those weapons are secured properly and not left in their vehicles at night,” Herman added.
Herman noted the relationship between local, state, and federal law enforcement is paramount to the investigations that reach criminal elements that involve illicit drugs and weapons, but citizens who choose to own firearms have their own role in reducing violence.
“These weapons are falling into the hands of violent criminals daily and nightly, simply because citizens are failing to properly secure their weapons in their residences,” Herman said. “I call upon every member of this community to be diligent and responsible in their firearm ownership.”
One person connected to the operation remains at large, wanted on multiple charges centered on the intention to distribute methamphetamine.
Authorities say more arrests related to the case can be expected.