Sauk Rapids Man Sentenced for Manufacturing and Selling Ghost Guns

(KNSI) — A Sauk Rapids man initially hit with 17 gun-related charges has been sentenced in U.S. District Court.

Attorney Andy Luger says Jay James Olson will spend five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for manufacturing and selling ghost guns.

“Jay Olson was manufacturing and trafficking untraceable, unmarked firearms and accessories, including a fully automatic machinegun and a silencer. The proliferation of these ghost guns and machinegun conversion devices presents a serious threat to the safety of our communities,” said Luger. “To underscore the significance of his crimes, Mr. Olson has been handed the statutory maximum prison term.”

According to court documents, between the fall of 2021 through April 2022, 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.” Olson offered to sell unserialized firearms, commonly called “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, 2022, at a home in Waite Park, Olson was accused of selling 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, 2022, 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.

He was charged with 16 counts of receiving or possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number and drug possession while possessing a firearm. Olson pleaded guilty in September of 2022 to one count of willfully engaging in the business of manufacturing firearms without a license.

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