DETROIT – A Detroit man and two others have been indicted after federal investigators said Acari Reed, 19, knowingly possessed a Glock-style handgun outfitted with a “machinegun conversion device,” often called a “switch,” and posed with it on Instagram.
Investigators said Reed even included music with lyrics like “I’m a big fish keep this switch.” They also tied him to a Detroit home where multiple loaded guns were found hidden in a vent. Two other men there were also indicted.
Recommended Videos
The Indictment
On April 1, 2026, Acari Reed was indicted on two counts of illegal possession of a machine gun along with Jayvon Randle, 19, and Jesse Hunter, 20, all from Detroit. Randle and Hunter also face a third count of the same charge.
An Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Senior Special Agent said the three were found in possession of a Glock Model 23 pistol equipped with an aftermarket device that converts a semi-automatic pistol into an automatic weapon. Randle and Hunter were allegedly found in possession of a Glock Model 21, also with a switch.
The feds said the add-on is a “machinegun conversion device (MCD),” which “convert[s] semiautomatic pistols to fire automatically,” making the gun a machine gun under federal law.
Guns found during probation check
Court records said the investigation began during a March 5, 2026, probation check at a house on Riverdale Avenue in Detroit. Police allegedly went there after getting information that a friend of Reed’s, Jayvon Randle -- also a suspect in a non-fatal shooting investigation -- was at the home. According to the ATF, Reed and Randle “have been validated by law enforcement as members of allied street gangs operating in Detroit.”
When officers arrived, they encountered Randle, Hunter and another associate of theirs – one who was also on probation, court records said. Investigators said Randle and Hunter began “descending from the upper level of the residence,” an open space converted into a bedroom.
During the probation check, officers found ammunition in a dresser in that upper space, along with personal legal and medical documents belonging to Randle and Hunter.
Then, the complaint said, officers found four guns hidden in a vent in that same upper area -- each loaded with a high-capacity magazine. Three of the four were equipped with machine gun conversion devices (switches). One of those guns, allegedly belonging to Reed, was described as a Glock Model 23 with a “black and silver metal MCD.”
Inside the vent, officers also recovered a Smith & Wesson Model handgun that was reported stolen from Ecorse, Michigan, on October 23, 2025, and a Glock Model 21 pistol camouflage frame and slide, equipped with a purple 3D-printed MCD. That gun was reported stolen from Aiken, South Carolina, on March 21, 2016.
Connecting Reed to the house and gun
Federal investigators said Reed’s cell phone location data, obtained with a federal search warrant, showed Reed was “regularly present” during the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. at the Riverdale home. Court records also said Reed’s device connected to the towers covering the home on the night of March 4, the evening before the probation search and recovery of the Glock.
But after the March 5 search, the feds said Reed’s phone no longer connected to the towers covering the Riverdale Avenue home, showing that Reed had become aware “the firearms had been discovered.”
Investigators said his deliberate avoidance of the location reflected “a consciousness of guilt.”
Instagram posts showing the machine gun
According to federal investigators, records obtained from Meta showed multiple images of a firearm consistent with the Glock. In one set of images sent from Reed’s account on Jan. 23, 2026, the complaint said the gun is shown being “handled and displayed by another individual” and “left unattended” in the same frame as Reed.
In that same image set, Reed is “depicted holding what appears to be a separate firearm equipped with an MCD.”
The feds said archived Instagram stories also showed Reed posted an image on Feb. 4, 2026, showing himself holding two firearms while standing near a third gun, “visually consistent” with the Glock.
And just six days after the search, on March 11, 2026, Reed allegedly uploaded a black-and-white image to his Instagram story showing what appeared to be the multi-colored firearm consistent with the Glock. Even though that post came after the gun was seized, the ATF Special Agent said it still suggested familiarity and prior possession.
“Reed applied a black and white filter to the March 11 image, which I believe was done intentionally to obscure the distinctive multi-colored appearance… and hinder its identification,” the Special Agent wrote. Reed also appeared to position his thumb in a way consistent with trying to hide the conversion device, they said.
Music lyrics also cited as evidence
Court records said investigators also looked at Reed’s recorded music to argue he was familiar with conversion devices. In a song titled “Them or Me,” Reynolds wrote that Reed references a “switch” multiple times, including: “I’m a big fish keep this switch,” and later, “…run up on my car and you get switched quick.”
Reynolds wrote that “switch” is commonly used slang for a conversion device, “typically affixed to a Glock-style handgun.”
Randle and Hunter’s criminal history
Law enforcement databases and MDOC records said both Randle and Hunter were assigned to Youthful Trainee (HYTA) status arising from deferred convictions for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (Felonious Assault) and Felony-Firearm.
Those convictions allegedly stem from a beating on February 17, 2025. Federal investigators said a victim was physically assaulted by multiple individuals, including being stomped on and repeatedly struck in the face and midsection.
The assault was recorded and later posted on a co-defendant’s social media account. After the victim tried to run, both Randle and Hunter allegedly pointed guns at the victim.
On July 3, 2025, Randle was sentenced to two years’ probation. On August 25, 2025, Hunter was sentenced to two years’ probation.