Nashua Teen Arrested After Police Say Loaded Glock With Machine Gun Conversion Device Was Found During Sept. 24 Encounter and Later Led to Federal Charge in Concord
CONCORD, NH — A 19-year-old Nashua man who had recently been reported missing is now facing a federal gun charge after investigators said police found a loaded Glock fitted with a machine gun conversion device. Alexander Diandro Cruz was arrested Sunday and appeared Monday in U.S. District Court in Concord on one felony count of possession of a machine gun.
U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said the allegation stems from a Sept. 24 encounter with Nashua police, who said they found Cruz with the firearm. Court filings also describe earlier concerns from family members and officers about his behavior, mental health, and access to guns. Cruz has also been tied to pending Massachusetts gun and assault charges.
Police say Sept. 24 encounter led to discovery of loaded Glock with a switch
According to investigators, Nashua police encountered Cruz on Sept. 24 and found him in possession of a loaded Glock firearm. Prosecutors said the weapon had a “switch,” also described as a machine gun conversion device, which can make the gun fire in a different mode. Federal authorities said firearms equipped with such devices must be lawfully registered.
The complaint says officers later recovered a Glock 23C .40 caliber pistol with a gold, box-type conversion kit attached. A special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives took possession of the firearm, and a second ATF firearms expert later agreed that the attachment was a machine gun conversion device.
Family concerns and police calls preceded the hospital detention
Court filings say Nashua police had received numerous calls about Cruz before the gun charge, including reports describing erratic and violent behavior, declining mental health, and access to firearms inside his residence. On Sept. 23, a family member contacted police and said they feared for their safety. Police then sought and received an emergency involuntary admissions order.
The next day, officers detained Cruz and took him to Saint Joseph’s Hospital for evaluation. During that interaction, police said he was uncooperative and tried to reach for something in his pocket. Officers frisked him and said they found the loaded Glock on him at that time. The filings do not say that any injuries occurred during the detention.
Police say Cruz left the hospital before evaluation was finished
On Sept. 29, police were told that Cruz had fled the hospital while still being evaluated. Nashua police then issued a public alert asking for help locating him. The following day, police received calls from family members who said Cruz had tried to get into the home but left before officers arrived.
Those developments came as investigators continued to examine the firearm allegation and the earlier concerns that had brought police into contact with Cruz. The complaint says the chronology of those calls and the hospital episode helped build the case that led to the federal arrest warrant.
Massachusetts gun and assault charges also remain pending
Along with the New Hampshire federal case, Cruz also has pending charges in Massachusetts. Court filings list firearm-carry without a license, ammunition without an FID card, assault with a dangerous weapon involving a firearm, and disorderly conduct.
Investigators said those Massachusetts charges were issued in August 2024 but were never properly entered into the National Crime Information Center, or NCIC, for reasons that remain unclear. That detail appears in the court record as part of the broader account of Cruz’s legal history and the information law enforcement had available when they were responding to him in Nashua.
Arrest warrant issued Oct. 1 before Nashua police picked him up
After the hospital incident and the later reports that Cruz had disappeared, a warrant for his arrest was issued on Oct. 1. Nashua police picked him up two days later. Court records say he requested a lawyer, and the court granted that request.
Cruz also waived a detention hearing, according to the court documents. He now faces a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of probation, and a $10,000 fine if convicted of possession of a machine gun.
Federal prosecutors say the case is only an accusation for now
Prosecutors emphasized that the filing does not amount to a conviction. The federal charge is based on allegations that Cruz possessed a Glock with an unregistered conversion device, not on a finding of guilt. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said all firearms with conversions must be lawfully registered.
The case now moves forward in federal court while Cruz remains tied to the Massachusetts matters listed in the complaint. For now, the public record contains an arrest, a federal charge, and a detailed timeline built from police calls, a hospital encounter, and ATF examination of the weapon.
