Sauk Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Weapons Charges

(KNSI) — A 21-year-old Sauk Rapids man has pleaded guilty to willfully manufacturing firearms without a license.

According to court documents, between the fall of 2021 through April 2022, Jay James Olson “willfully engaged in the business of manufacturing firearms for profit, despite the fact that he is not and has never been a federally licensed manufacturer of firearms.” In the spring of 2022, Olson offered to sell unserialized firearms, commonly referred to as “ghost guns,” and various firearms-related accessories, including a silencer, an auto sear, and high-capacity magazines, to someone for $20,000. Unbeknownst to Olson, that person was a confidential informant who he also told the price for each gun would go up because the federal government was targeting them.

On April 26th, at a home in Waite Park, Olson sold the confidential source 16 ghost guns, nine high-capacity magazines, one firearms silencer, an auto-sear, and other firearms accessories. Immediately after the transaction, law enforcement arrested Olson and executed a search warrant at the residence. During the search, investigators recovered firearm assembly kits, unserialized lower receivers, and multiple miscellaneous firearms parts and accessories. On May 4th, investigators executed a search warrant at Olson’s Sauk Rapids home and recovered from the basement manufacturing tools, various firearm assembly kits, and a Glock firearm assembly diagram.

Olson pleaded guilty to one count of willfully engaging in the business of manufacturing firearms without a license. Sentencing has not been set.

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