NILES, Mich. (WNDU) – “Violence will not be tolerated in the city of Niles.”
That was the pledge made Tuesday morning by Devin Kowalski, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan.
Niles has about 12,000 residents. Last year, five lost their lives to gun violence.
Kowalski and Mark Totten, the U.S. District Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, came to Niles to announce that a grand jury in Grand Rapids has indicted 19-year-old Niles resident Lawrence Edward Slaughter II. Slaughter is accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm. It’s also alleged that he had a pistol with a machine gun conversion device installed.
“We tracked down numerous subjects who were in possession of illegal firearms that we believed to be shooters in a lot of the incidents,” said Niles Public Safety Director Mike Dawson. “We were able to, we feel, prevent additional crimes from taking place. And this indictment today is a result of those investigations.”
“The emergence of firearm conversion devices is especially concerning,” Totten explained. “These devices, which are sometimes referred to as Glock switches or auto sears, can fire over a thousand rounds per minute.”
Court documents indicate that Slaughter is being held in the Berrien County Jail. A request has been made to move Slaughter to Grand Rapids for his initial hearing next Monday, Sept. 11.
Totten said the purpose of Tuesday’s visit to Niles was twofold. First, to announce the grand jury indictment and secondly, to send a message.
“I will not hesitate to federally prosecute those who are committing crimes where appropriate and who are putting this community at risk,” Totten said.
Totten said his grandparents once lived in Niles and that’s where he learned to mow lawns — a skill that he used to pay his way through college.
According to Totten, the felon with a firearm charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years, while the possession of a machine gun conversion device can bring up to 10 years behind bars.
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