PONTIAC (WWJ) – Federal agents say some gang violence in Pontiac is being fueled by Russian weaponry.
A report from the Detroit News says there have been more than 40 shootings since last July in an apparent war between two rival gangs in Pontiac. Victims of the violence include a 7-year-old girl who was killed on her way home from school.
The report says an ongoing investigation into the violence stretches all the way to Russia and has led to state and federal charges against at least 40 people since last fall.
The violence between the R Block and 4-Block gangs has been, in part, escalated by at least one suspect who is accused of purchasing devices from Russia that convert pistols into illegal, fully automatic machine guns, according to the report.
In one shooting last June, witnesses told investigators alleged R Block member Immauel Gates was seen firing a Golck pistol that was outfitted with an after-market, illegal switch. Switches that convert semiautomatic pistols into machine guns are illegal to use without a federal firearms license, which authorities say Gates does not have.
Gates had reportedly been under the focus of investigators since early 2021, due to his involvement in a drive-by shooting that sent two people to the hospital.
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The News reports investigators seized Gates’ cellphone and learned he was buying Glock switches from a Russian website called Silencer Sales. Gates reportedly used NBA player names as aliases, including Magic Johnson, to buy the devices.
Agents with the ATF say Gates went on “a shopping spree so lucrative that his contacts in Russia eventually gave him discounts,” according to the News.
The 20-year-old Gates is accused of buying 32 Glock switches between July 2020 and September 2021. In an alleged email about buying 20 of them, the Russian seller reportedly asked Gates to pay with Bitcoin.
He replied, “can I just pay Western Union bro? I spend so much money with y’all,” according to the report.
Gates reportedly got a discount and paid $1,220 for a package that was labeled “spare lawnmower parts” and intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
He is also accused of buying guns from California with a stolen credit card in November 2020. Authorities say those guns were used in a shooting in Pontiac.
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