VALENTINE, Neb. - Five Colorado men are facing charges after Valentine Police say they violated weapon laws. An officer stopped a vehicle in the 1000 block of East Highway 20 in Valentine on July 7. According to police, the men had a concealed weapon and a device capable of turning a handgun into an automatic weapon.

Valentine Police contacted The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for further investigation.

These illegal firearm conversion devices, commonly referred to as “switches” or “auto sears,” can convert semi-automatic handguns into fully automatic weapons within seconds. According to the ATF, the number of devices recovered by law enforcement increased more than 500 percent nationwide between 2017 and 2021.