Two geniuses were arrested on weapons charges after their own Instagram post led the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to raid a home on the near east side of the city.
According to detectives with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the investigation began when they saw Instagram posts by Ronald Castellanos with pictures and prices of the weapons.
“You know Instagram is not the place to sell firearms,” said Drew Brown, an officer with the IMPD.
The SWAT raid, which took place on October 9, saw police seize eight handguns, 20 grams of methamphetamine as well as $3,480 in cash. Two of the seized handguns were Glocks equipped with machine gun conversion devices commonly known as switches.
IMPD officials state that this bust at a home on North State Avenue demonstrates the department’s ongoing concerted effort to crack down on criminals using and selling machine gun conversion devices across Indianapolis.
“This just goes to show the hard work our detectives are putting in day in and day out…They are getting these dangerous machine gun devices off the streets which can inflict a terrible amount of damage…Possession of a machine gun conversion device is a serious felony in and of itself, let alone allegedly selling those on a social media platform” Brown said.
While private firearm sales are legal in Indiana even if social media is used to facilitate, persons prohibited from possessing the weapons are still barred from such transactions, and selling machine gun conversion devices is always against the law.
“It should be noted that the firearms recovered from the home matched the pictures on the Instagram that were listed for sale…The two firearms with switches, one gold and one silver, were posted on Instagram for sale and were recovered,” court documents read.
Castellanos was on probation at the time of his arrest, having pleaded guilty in July to randomly discharging a gun at Brookside Park. In that case, he was charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a Level 6 felony, before he eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the lesser misdemeanor version of that same crime.
Also arrested this week on weapons charges following the SWAT raid was Brenijah Hollis. An affidavit in the case shows that police also recovered a small amount of methamphetamine in addition to the firearms and switches during the raid. Officials claim Castellanos was using Instagram to sell both the drugs and the weapons.
Both suspects were arrested on preliminary charges of possession of a machine gun.
Didn’t sound like the coppers had to work To hard on this one
I’m curious what the asking price was for that ‘Switch’-equipped Glock clone.
(I have *zero* interested in actually buying it, but am I curious what the cash ‘street price’ is on those things…)
The cops like very easy arrests. And criminals tell on themselves all the time. Using the internet. The internet is public. You don’t need a warrant just to go looking.
Certainly more effort than F-Troop will do.
But criminals will always self-incriminate. They can’t help themselves.
So many of them do love to brag about the things that they’ve done. Usually bragging to another criminal who will turn them into the police.
For a reduced sentence.
big(smile)
““This just goes to show the hard work our detectives are putting in day in and day out”
a chance encounter by a detective using their work time to cruise around instagram is not hard work.
😂
I will let you know when most police agencies in NY put in/are allowed to do that much effort for such investigations.
Maybe police wouldn’t have the hiring troubles they do if they advertised the job as “troll insta for $50k a year and retire with full benefits in twenty.”
Haha
Oh wow $3,480 in cash. That’ll be a trip to the grocery store and a tank of gas with four more years of Kamalanomincs. And she’s very proud of Kamalanomincs.
1) Guessing it’s a Glock clone but anyone know the make of the gun, top row, second from right with slide cuts & stainless barrel?
2) As can be seen in the picture, I can only wonder as to how one gets that AK mag work in Glock pistols…
See, that’s why we also need to ban 3d printers – anyone in just minutes could just create a new frame that accepts 30 rd. AK banana clip thingies that go up. We need to get these weapons of war off of the streets, and the printers out of basements, and me into the WhiteHouse.
“…and me into the WhiteHouse.”
Notice there was not an appeal to outlaw all printing devices. Need those to manufacture votes.
🙂
Vivian Kubrick: My Father Supported Freedom, a Strong Military and Gun Ownership.
h ttps://www.shootingnewsweekly.com/politics/vivian-kubrick-my-father-supported-freedom-a-strong-military-and-gun-ownership/
…possibly a PSA dagger or P80 lower with glock clone upper… Patmos Arms or one of the many cheap clone uppers considering the source.
Graphic Warning: Knife Attack on Fairfax Officer Leads to Fatal Shooting During Wellness Call.
h ttps://concealednation.org/2024/10/sydney-wilson-shooting-graphic-warning/
(note: this video gave me flash backs to the time I was attacked by a crazy street person woman wielding a knife. Basically: I was leaving a restaurant heading for my car when this woman walking down the sidewalk charged at me into the parking lot swinging her knife. Jumped on me and grabbed on. I tried to get away from her but she managed to hold on with one hand twisted up in my shirt. So while fending off the knife stab attempts with one arm and hand I managed to draw and fire. She went down, didn’t die though. Police said she was one of their ‘frequent flyers’ and had attacked people over time with bricks and rocks and clubs and bottles and but this was the first time they knew of that she had used a knife.)
Did you make eye contact with her before the attack ?
I was told by a NYC local to never make eye contact with coconuts.
From what I know Indianapolis is a rapidly disintegrating hole rampant with gang crime. Kinda a mini Chiraq. My wife’s sister lives nearby. Just south is the mall where the hero kid took out a wannabe mass murderer at 40 yards with a GLOCK©
nope. I had noticed her on the sidewalk but she didn’t at that time appear to be looking at me or making any sort of indicating movements towards me. as I turned to face my car walking towards it she was suddenly coming at me.
Thank goodness the serial numbers were not obliterated.
Are the “switches” select fire or are they always full auto?
Hey, howsabout a little slack for the geniuses? They were trying Harris’ “opportunity economy” on for size. If they had been successful, they may have ended up in one of her campaign ads.
The “gun community” totally supports the arrest of this machine gun salesman. The “gun community” really likes the NFA.
The second amendment is about all Arms. Not just the ones that some select government employee or some select civilian likes.
Nancy Pelosi requested machine guns to used if necessary, against protesters she didn’t like.
In california, national guard machine guns were deployed, and positioned in Hollywood california, to protect a rich neighborhood.
It really does seem that the “gun community” is comfortable with the government owning machine guns. But they are very uncomfortable with civilian’s owning machine guns.
And in Texas several years ago. A sheriff deployed an “Obama issued” armored fighting vehicle. With a turret mounted machine gun, pointed at peaceful protesters.
I believe the second amendment gives me the american birthright, to own a bazooka.
And just like I have the right to manufacture my own firearms in my own home. I also have the right to manufacture my own rockets in my own home.
And for those that don’t know it. Thousands of americans have been building their own rockets, in their own homes for decades now.
The “gun community” is comfortable in the 21st century, when the government “uses” machine guns against the protesting civilian population.
The cash thing at these busts always bothers me: some people use simply cash in their day-to-day lives and having a few thousand dollars in cash is not a crime–nor does it indicate criminal activity.
I personally keep a certain amount of cash on hand and that has been very handy when an establishment is unable to process credit cards. It was also handy when my friend wanted to buy a used truck and his bank did not have enough cash to cover the amount of the withdrawal that he wanted to pay for the truck. (I loaned him cash until his bank could “order” it and enable him to pay me back.)
What did the cops take home and steal?