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, OregonKOIN) — Portland police said they made two arrests Wednesday afternoon, with a teenager and a man now facing felony charges for illegally possessing firearms, including a modified fully automatic pistol.

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

As PPB explained in a statement, “During his arrest, officers found a semi-automatic handgun equipped with an aftermarket automatic trigger switch that made the gun capable of firing fully automatically.”

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

Under federal law, handguns equipped with aftermarket automatic triggers meet the definition of a machine gun, police said. These types of modified weapons can allow them to fire “an entire 17-round magazine in less than half a second.” The mods are widely available online and are something Portland police said they encounter “regularly.”

The 16-year-old was booked into the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center and faces charges of unlawful possession of machine guns, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of unlawful possession of a 'fire arms. Preston was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center and is charged with illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a machine gun. Both are also accused of violating the city's ordinance regarding illegal possession of a loaded firearm in public.