PONTIAC, Mich. – A Pontiac man who is banned from owning firearms due to his previous criminal history is facing charges after he posted several photos with guns and ammunition on his Instagram account, federal officials said.
A criminal complaint was filed Tuesday (Aug. 23) and accuses William Lawrence Reed Jr., 21 or 22 years old, of felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
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Criminal history
Officials said Reed has previous felony convictions that resulted in him being banned from possessing firearms.
In 2018, he pleaded no contest to felony possession of a controlled substance less than 25 grams in Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Oakland County, according to authorities.
In 2020, he pleaded no contest to felony unarmed robbery in the same court, police said.
On June 17, Oakland County deputies said they arrested Reed on suspicion of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Since June 21, Reed had been on state pre-trial bond, which includes a “no firearms” provision, court records show. He must also wear a GPS tether and agree to home confinement, police said. He can only leave his home for drug testing, medical appointments, and attorney meetings, his pretrial supervising agent said.
Instagram pictures with guns
The criminal complaint accuses Reed of posting social media photos of himself in possession of firearms multiple times over the past two years, including as recently as June 2022.
Officials said they reviewed an Instagram account that belonged to someone who matched the physical appearance of Reed.
An agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives said, “I concluded Reed was the individual depicted in the profile photograph, other posted images, and the individual who accessed and utilized this account.”
On Christmas Day in 2020, Reed posted a picture of himself with a suspected silver and black semi-automatic pistol, authorities said. An extended magazine was inserted into the pistol, and the gun was tucked into his waistband, according to officials.
Reed posted a picture of himself with two suspected firearms on Aug. 6, 2021, the criminal complaint says.
Police said Reed exchanged text messages with someone named “Zadia” on May 17, 2022. During that conversation, Reed was asked if he knew anyone who would buy a Glock .40-caliber 50-round drum magazine, court records show.
Reed responded, “(I don’t know), I got a 9,” authorities said.
“Based on my training and experience, in the context of this conversation, a ‘9′ is reference to a 9 mm caliber Glock pistol,” the ATF agent wrote in the complaint. “I believe Reed told ‘Zadia’ that he had a 9 mm Glock pistol.”
Reed posted a picture on March 29 of himself with another person, officials said. They were in front of a suspected Kel-Tec PLR 16 pistol, cash, and two large plastic bags of suspected marijuana, according to authorities.
An image with a time stamp of 9:45 a.m. May 31 showed a Glock 17 Gen 5 9 mm handgun, an NC Star light with a laser affixed, and a transparent red plastic extended magazine sitting in someone’s lap, court records show. There were nine rounds of ammunition visible in the magazine, officials said.
A second picture was posted four hours later and showed Reed with a drum magazine sticking out of his shorts, authorities said.
On June 16, Reed posted an Instagram story that showed him wearing a white T-shirt, a Charlotte Hornets tank top, and a silver bullet chain, the criminal complaint says. Officials said he was holding an apparent Glock 17 Gen 5 9 mm firearm. It had an NC Star light with a laser affixed to it and a drum magazine inserted, authorities said.
Court records say a music video was posted to YouTube on Aug. 2 that showed Reed at a Pontiac home with a Glock 17 Gen 5 firearm. The gun had an NC Star light with a laser affixed to it, according to authorities.
Officials believe the gun in the music video is the same one from the picture above that shows a firearm in someone’s lap.
Reed is also accused of communicating with various people about firearms in text messages from March through May of this year.
Search warrant
Authorities performed a federal search Tuesday (Aug. 23) at Reed’s home on South Boulevard West in Pontiac, they said.
ATF agents seized a black Glock 31-round extended magazine with three rounds of Blazer 9 mm ammunition and 21 rounds of CCI 9 mm ammunition inside, they said.
The magazine was found in a bedroom, and the homeowner said Reed shares that bedroom with a 5-year-old, according to the criminal complaint.
Reed denied that he was in the picture of a gun sitting in someone’s lap, but admitted the gun he was seen holding in the other two images above was real, authorities said.
Reed said he found the gun from those pictures between March and June of this year on a street in Pontiac after someone threw it while running from police, according to officials.
He admitted he knew the gun was loaded, police said.
He also said he was aware that there was a magazine and ammunition in his room at the time of the search warrant, court records show.
The original purchaser of the Glock in the first image told officials that they had last seen the firearm no later than May 15. That person believed the gun had been stolen by an acquaintance, officials said.
“I carefully reviewed Images 1 and 3,” the ATF agent wrote in the complaint. “Based on my training and experience, they appear to be the same firearm.”
Officials said the gun and ammunition were manufactured outside of Michigan.
The criminal complaint concludes there’s probable cause that Reed illegally possessed firearms, as a felon.