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Sacramento Gun Manufacturer Sentenced to Prison for Manufacturing and Assisting Other

Zeo

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Thursday, February 16, 2017

Sacramento Gun Manufacturer Sentenced to Prison for Manufacturing and Assisting Others to Manufacture AR-15 Rifles

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Daniel Albert Crowninshield, 54, of Sacramento, was sentenced today to three years and five months in prison for unlawfully manufacturing and dealing in firearms and possession of an unregistered machinegun, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
In sentencing Crowninshield, U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley referred to his actions as a “brazen attempt to circumvent the law.” He was ordered to self-surrender on April 13, 2017.

U.S. Attorney Talbert stated: “The unregulated manufacture and sale of high-capacity firearms is a serious threat to public safety. We will continue to investigate and prosecute unlicensed gun dealers who circumvent the law.”
“If individuals neglect to follow federal firearms laws, ATF has the responsibility to investigate these activities because it is ATF's highest priority to safeguard the public it serves,” said Special Agent in Charge Jill A. Snyder. “ATF enforces the federal laws and rules governing the manufacturing of firearms. When ATF receives information on the illegal manufacture of firearms, it investigates and has the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to implement those laws. Daniel Crowninshield, aka Dr. Death, owned and operated a machine shop where he allowed customers with unknown backgrounds to use his machinery to unlawfully manufacture firearms for profit. That activity posed a very dangerous threat to the safety of our communities.”

According to court documents, Crowninshield, who was also known by his online moniker “Dr-Death,” operated an unlicensed firearms manufacturing business out of C&G Tool, a metal shop in North Sacramento. Using sophisticated computer-controlled machines, Crowninshield manufactured parts for AR-15s and other firearms.

Many individual firearm components are not subject to regulation by ATF and can be bought and sold without reporting the sales and without requiring a background check. One such part is a metal casting of an incomplete “lower receiver” called a “blank.” The blank can be converted into a lower receiver, which is the part of an AR‑15 that contains a trigger, firing pin, and other parts, to form a functioning firearm. Once the blank is milled into a completed lower receiver using a drill press or automated machine, it is considered a firearm and it is subject to federal regulation.

Generally, the manufacturing at C&G Tool would proceed as follows: prospective gun buyers would purchase an AR-15 blank and take it to C&G Tool where a skilled machinist would mill the blank into an AR-15 lower receiver. According to federal law, a person may manufacture a firearm for personal use without including a serial number on the firearm, provided that the firearm is not sold or transferred to another person. Otherwise, to manufacture a firearm requires a license from ATF, and a firearm that is transferred to another person must bear a serial number.

According to court documents, in order to create the pretext that C&G customers were building their own firearms, the skilled machinist would have the customer press a button or put his or her hands on a piece of machinery so that the customer could claim that the customer, rather than the machinist, made the firearm.

Crowninshield advertised his services on at least one online firearm enthusiast forum. This website mainly consists of forums where people ask and answer questions related to firearms. Using the moniker “Dr-Death,” he was a prolific poster on the website. Additionally, other members frequently posted about Dr-Death, including review of service provided and recommending that other users visit his shop.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Firearms with the assistance of the Sacramento Police Department, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, and California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Lee and Matthew Yelovich prosecuted the case.

Crowninshield was one of several Sacramento-area individuals involved in manufacturing AR-15 style firearms. On December 9, 2016, in a related case, Emiliano Cortez-Garcia (2:13-cr-353-GEB) was sentenced to five years in prison for manufacturing AR-15 firearms and a concurrent six-year prison term for possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of a machinegun.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/p...ced-prison-manufacturing-and-assisting-others

Machinist Sentenced to 3.5 Years in Federal Prison For Manufacturing “Ghost Guns”


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Images credit http://tribunist.com/politics/man-sentenced-for-creating-ghost-gun-ar-15s/
 
Note to self, when contemplating a quasi-legal operation come up with a better pseudonym than Dr Death. Perhaps use Fuzzy Bunny as it will sound better to the jury.
 
Note to self, when contemplating a quasi-legal operation come up with a better pseudonym than Dr Death. Perhaps use Fuzzy Bunny as it will sound better to the jury.

I think he was going with the Dr. Jack Kavorkian thing where jack set up the machine and the patient pushed the button.

Well, it didn't work out perfectly for Jack either. He did prison time.

Why any person who wants to own a gun would live in CA is beyond me. Let alone poking the bear while doing it.

Poking the bear is essential IMHO or we get steamrolled by the left.
 
Why any person who wants to own a gun would live in CA is beyond me. Let alone poking the bear while doing it.

While the wildfires, floods, earthquakes, droughts and hurricanes are a b-word, it is one of the finest collections of diverse land in all 50 states. That would be the reason to live there. Just like I can't imagine not living in SE Mass. It's my home.

As far as this, I don't get the whole "ghost gun" phenom. I guess for a select few that want to try their hand at finishing (not making - finishing) something, great.

Although based on the article, it seems less about them having a proper receiver and more about them just pressing a button on a CNC machine in order to be the "manufacturer" of the firearm. I can see the ATF's point. (Although it will be interesting when people start 3D printing their own receivers in the future. Who do you arrest??? The guy making a gun for himself legally or the guy in another country that developed the plans?)

Also - didn't we already have this thread last week???

Ghostgun 30 persecondcliprounds magazine. Deadly.
 
"The blank can be converted into a lower receiver, which is the part of an AR‑15 that contains a trigger, firing pin, and other parts, to form a functioning firearm."


Hmmm, and all these years I thought that the firing pin was within the bolt inside the UPPER RECEIVER. Learn something new every day. [rolleyes]
 
I think he was going with the Dr. Jack Kavorkian thing where jack set up the machine and the patient pushed the button.

Well, it didn't work out perfectly for Jack either. He did prison time.



Poking the bear is essential IMHO or we get steamrolled by the left.

Maybe walking out into traffic on the highway would have been a better analogy. It should be clear to gun owners, there is no "winning" in CA. Either you start shooting people, or just accept its going to get worse, not better.
 
While the wildfires, floods, earthquakes, droughts and hurricanes are a b-word, it is one of the finest collections of diverse land in all 50 states. That would be the reason to live there. Just like I can't imagine not living in SE Mass. It's my home.

As far as this, I don't get the whole "ghost gun" phenom. I guess for a select few that want to try their hand at finishing (not making - finishing) something, great.

Although based on the article, it seems less about them having a proper receiver and more about them just pressing a button on a CNC machine in order to be the "manufacturer" of the firearm. I can see the ATF's point. (Although it will be interesting when people start 3D printing their own receivers in the future. Who do you arrest??? The guy making a gun for himself legally or the guy in another country that developed the plans?)

Also - didn't we already have this thread last week???

Ghostgun 30 persecondcliprounds magazine. Deadly.

I can offer a few thoughts about that "ghost gun phenom" you wonder about. Here in Georgia it's perfectly legal to take an 80% lower receiver, complete it, assemble it into a functioning firearm and NEVER file a single piece of paperwork on it as long as you do it for yourself. There's no violation of Federal or State law as long as you're not manufacturing it for someone else.

I know quite a few people who have unserialized AR-15's. It goes quite well with the general attitude of "it's my own damn business".
 
Too bad he wasn't an illegal alien, they would have encouraged his entrepreneurial spirit and gave him an award.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
As far as this, I don't get the whole "ghost gun" phenom. I guess for a select few that want to try their hand at finishing (not making - finishing) something, great.
It's like owning gold instead of a government controlled banking or brokerage account - some people just want to get out from under the thumb of big brother.
 
I can offer a few thoughts about that "ghost gun phenom" you wonder about. Here in Georgia it's perfectly legal to take an 80% lower receiver, complete it, assemble it into a functioning firearm and NEVER file a single piece of paperwork on it as long as you do it for yourself. There's no violation of Federal or State law as long as you're not manufacturing it for someone else.

I know quite a few people who have unserialized AR-15's. It goes quite well with the general attitude of "it's my own damn business".

Oh I get it. But if it's time to build and own a "ghost gun," whether they know you have them or not isn't going to be an issue. Odds are someone building a "ghost gun" already owns firearms and has his or her # at least AVAILABLE to the ATF based on past transactions.
 
Oh I get it. But if it's time to build and own a "ghost gun," whether they know you have them or not isn't going to be an issue. Odds are someone building a "ghost gun" already owns firearms and has his or her # at least AVAILABLE to the ATF based on past transactions.
Tell that to the long gun licensees in NYC who received a communication from the NYPD ordering them to either surrender their gun or account for its lawful removal from that city.
 
I don't remember .gov talking about "public safety" when we learned that gun-control enthusiast Leland Yee was enthusiastically trafficking military weapons to thugs.
 
Tell that to the long gun licensees in NYC who received a communication from the NYPD ordering them to either surrender their gun or account for its lawful removal from that city.

So if you owned a ghost gun in NYC, you'd have an illegal gun that you basically have to keep in a locked closet and show no one.

Are you saying that it's a good idea to ghost gun if you are in NYC???? For what purpose? Are you willing to go to jail in order to defend your home against that zombie hordes? Or would something non-ghosty be just as effective as normal, as opposed to paranormal, home defense in NYC?

Trust me - I'm hoping the GOAL suit hits the USSC and overturns decades of meaningless, safe-less exclusions. But owning a ghost gun "in case the man stops me from owning this" is a bad reason. But paranoia in places like TX, GA and the like is probably fueling a lot of these sales.
 
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