Four Luzerne County men have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of machinegun trafficking and various firearms offenses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced. Shaitq Crum, 27, Nasir Shelton, 24, Alphonse Bartiromo, 18, and Brendan Shadle, 23, are accused of conspiring to possess and transfer machineguns and machinegun conversion devices.
The indictment alleges the co-conspirators dealt in “Glock switches” and “auto-sears,” which are devices designed to convert firearms into fully automatic weapons. They reportedly obtained machineguns from multiple sources, sold them for profit, and manufactured conversion devices themselves using a 3D printer. Additional charges include firearms trafficking involving an AR-15 pistol with an obliterated serial number and privately made “ghost guns.”
Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia, said, “According to the charges, these defendants were responsible for manufacturing and distributing weapons and conversion devices capable of fueling significant violence in our communities.” Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division, added that the enterprise involved “weapons designed to prevent their tracing, an illegal machinegun, and dangerous machinegun conversion devices.”
The case, investigated by the FBI, ATF, Wilkes-Barre City Police Department, and the Luzerne County Drug Task Force, is part of Operation Take Back America. The indictment includes 21 counts of firearms offenses, with maximum penalties ranging from 5 to 15 years of imprisonment per count. All charged individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.