Organized theft suspect charged after allegedly converting pistol into machine gun with bump stocks

PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston man is in jail after being accused of having a pistol that was converted into a machine gun with just one small device.

Derek Bell, 34, was arrested on Oct. 26 at a motel on Easthaven near the Gulf Freeway.

According to court records, Pasadena police officers, who had been investigating an organized theft ring, found stacks of stolen clothing in a room rented by Bell. They also uncovered two guns in a basket, and one was equipped with a switch that converts a pistol into an illegal weapon.

"(Bell) was caught with a 9 mm handgun and also an AR-15-style pistol illegally modified with an AR switch which essentially converted it from a semi-automatic weapon into a machine gun," a prosecutor explained during Bell's first court appearance.

Bell is a felon on parole until February 2024 for burglary of a habitation, according to online records. Just having a gun as a felon is illegal.

Bell is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon. He remains in jail on bonds totaling $15,000.

The Houston area has seen an uptick in equipment that modifies weapons to make them rapid-fire. In 2022, 13 Investigates took a closer look at the problem.

ABC13 learned of Bell's case on the same day the Supreme Court decided to weigh in on whether "bump stocks," which, like switches, allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more quickly, are illegal.

Former President Donald Trump banned them after the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017. The case originated with a Texas gun owner and dealer who sued, claiming the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) does not have the legal authority to prohibit such weapons. The lower courts have reached different opinions.

University of Houston Law Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson told ABC13 there are bigger issues at stake.

"The immediate question has to do with whether a bump stock attached to a semi-automatic rifle converts it to a machine gun, but the decision has broader ramifications," she explained. "Because if the court decides it's not in the ATF authority, it could threaten a lot of other federal regulations as well."

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