Florida teen arrested for allegedly showing off guns on Instagram
Landon Smith was arrested and charged with 12 counts of possession of a weapon. (Photo: Marion County Sheriff's Office)
OCALA, Fla. - An 18-year-old from Ocala was arrested after posting hundreds of pictures and videos of himself with guns on Instagram, an arrest affidavit states.
Landon Smith was arrested on Monday on 12 counts of possession of a weapon, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
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A search warrant of his Instagram account revealed that he was allegedly in illegal possession of these guns from his frequent posts. The affidavit states that Smith posted 35 separate times, totaling 228 pictures, videos, and Reels of him with guns.
"It is imperative to obtain photographs of suspect Smith in possession of the firearms directly from Instagram so that their authenticity cannot be easily called into question," the affidavit states.
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The report also states that there were nine audio messages that revealed Smith to be in possession of firearms or trying to acquire them. Those audio messages also contained conversations with a friend, whose identity was not revealed, about trying to convert legal semi-automatic handguns into illegal automatic weapons, which are essentially machine guns, according to the affidavit.
Possession of firearms and/or ammunition is a second-degree felony. Smith is currently being held in the Marion County Jail, arrest records show.