A violent felon armed with a Glock switch has been charged with a firearm crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Leigha Simonton.
Jaterrian Damon Johnson, 28, was arrested last Wednesday and charged via criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on Monday morning.
According to the complaint, on August 7, plainclothes officers were conducting increased surveillance at an apartment complex near Walnut Hill Lane and Greenville Avenue when they observed a black Kia Sorrento committing traffic violations while exiting the parking lot. The heightened police presence was a response to a recent incident involving Dallas Police Department officers who had engaged suspects after a stolen pickup truck was crashed into a patrol vehicle.
Patrol officers stopped the Kia, and while walking back to their patrol vehicle with the driver’s license, they observed Mr. Johnson, who was seated in the passenger seat, making furtive movements and repeatedly turning to look back at the officer.
Upon returning to the Kia, the officers noticed a high-capacity Glock magazine on the passenger floorboard underneath Mr. Johnson’s seat. Inside the glove compartment, they found a .40 caliber Glock handgun with a live round in the chamber and a Glock switch slotted into the backplate.
A criminal history query revealed that Mr. Johnson had previously pleaded guilty to a state charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to three years in prison.
If convicted, Mr. Johnson faces up to 15 years in federal prison.
The Dallas Police Department’s Violent Crimes Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Withers is prosecuting the case.
