Teen, man charged with illegal possession of machine gun during Portland traffic stop

Portland police arrested two people and seized two weapons, including a modified fully automatic pistol, during a traffic stop. June 27, 2024 (courtesy Portland Police Bureau).

PORTLAND, Oregon (KOIN) — Portland police said they made two arrests Wednesday afternoon, with a teenager and a man now facing serious misdemeanor charges for illegal possession of firearms, including a modified fully automatic pistol.

During a traffic stop at approximately 4:43 p.m. near Northeast 74th Avenue and Northeast Lombard Street, the Portland Police Bureau’s Targeted Response Team arrested a 16-year-old “wanted for a menacing matter and in connection with multiple firearms-related crimes.”

As PPB explained in a statement, “During his arrest, officers located a semi-automatic handgun equipped with a spare automatic trigger switch that rendered the gun capable of fully automatic fire.”

The driver of the vehicle, 23-year-old Demaria D. Preston, was also arrested. Police said he was in possession of a “revolver in illegal possession.” Both the teen and the man were booked into their respective detention centers on multiple charges and both were “referred to Portland Ceasefire Program services,” police said.

According to police, handguns equipped with an aftermarket automatic trigger system meet the definition of a machine gun. These types of modified weapons can allow them to fire “a full magazine of 17 rounds in less than half a second.” The modifications are widely available online, and Portland police say they encounter them “regularly.”

The 16-year-old was booked into the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center and is charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. Preston was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center and is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of a machine gun. Both are also charged with violating the city’s ordinance for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm in public.