SCRANTON – The Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office announced today that a 17-year-old juvenile male was arrested and charged with possessing multiple dangerous and altered automatic weapons and dealing fentanyl.
“There is an alarming increase in firearm offenses committed by minors, particularly those involving the illegal modification of semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic firearms using Glock switches,” said District Attorney Brian J. Gallagher. “This is not a trend we will tolerate. We are working with our state and federal partners to implement heightened investigative strategies and will not rest until we remove this threat from our streets and bring this those responsible to justice.”
According to Gallagher, after purchasing fentanyl from the juvenile’s home on the 900 block Prescott Avenue in Scranton, law enforcement officers conducted a search warrant and found style firearm with a loaded magazine, and one Tauras 9mm handgun. Both Glock 9mm handguns had been modified to fire as fully automatic weapons with a single pull of the trigger. Law enforcement also found a quantity of fentanyl pills and a digital scale. The juvenile was arrested and charged with numerous felony and misdemeanor weapons and drug-related charges.
“This case represents law enforcement’s shared mission to investigate, arrest, prosecute, and remove individuals who are harming our neighborhoods with drugs and illegal firearms,” Gallagher said. “The surge in firearm offenses by minors, especially those involving the illegal conversion of weapons to fully automatic firearms, will be met with unwavering and aggressive law enforcement action.”
The DA applauded the collaborative efforts of Lackawanna County Detectives, Scranton Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police Troop R Vice Unit, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Gun Violence Section.
Following his arrest, the juvenile was incarcerated at a juvenile detention facility. The DA’s Office does not identify juvenile defendants in accordance with the law. Criminal charges are allegations only, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
