Three men from the Twin Cities have been sentenced to prison for trafficking machine guns through Snapchat, according to Minnesota U.S Attorney Andrew Luger.
Court documents show that in March 2023, law enforcement learned of a Snapchat group called "BLICCS&STICCS3," which members Rafael Carter Wesley, 19, Kyrees Darius Johnson, 22, and Avont Akira Drayton, 21, used to sell machine guns, firearms, and controlled substances in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas.
Police took screenshots and videos of several individuals in the group selling, promoting, and operating machine-gun conversion devices (MCDs, also known as "switches") that convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic machine-gun.
These devices are regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
An undercover officer began monitoring the group, posting a picture of a prop gun to the Snapchat group. Wesley reached out to the officer and asked if he wanted to trade the gun for a Glock "switch."
The undercover officer continued conversations with Wesley on Snapchat about potentially buying "switches," which Wesley said would cost $700 for two or $900 for three.
The undercover officer agreed to buy three switches for $900, paying an additional $100 if Wesley drove up to St. Cloud to deliver them. On March 27, 2023, Wesley met the officer in St. Cloud and sold him three switches for $1,000.
A second purchase was arranged through Wesley on April 4, 2023, this time meeting in St. Paul. Johnson was also present during the transaction of three switches, which the two men sold for $900.
Johnson had four prior felony convictions, which barred him from possessing any firearms. However, Johnson was seen by law enforcement posting images of multiple guns to the Snapchat group and offering them for sale.
Johnson also posted images and messages that showed him trafficking drugs, including blue fentanyl pills.
On April 13, 2023, Officers met with Drayton, another member of the Snapchat group, to purchase a 3D-printed "drop-in MCD" for an AR-style rifle for $550. Drayton showed the officers a video on his phone of him shooting a gun with the MCD attached, commenting it made the gun shoot "way too [expletive] fast."
Multiple purchases were made between March and June, with six controlled buys between various members of the BLICCS&STICCS3 group.
All three men pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful possession of machine guns.
Johnson was sentenced this week to 95 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. On July 10, Wesley was sentenced to 14 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and on April 23, Drayton was sentenced to 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
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