The Lane County Sheriff's Office seized numerous guns from a home in Springfield where police suspect a man was running an illegal gun and firearm-suppressor manufacturing operation.
The Sheriff's Office has seized around 100 guns, which are a mixture of handguns and semi-automatic rifles, according to Lane County Sgt. Thomas Speldrich. The home also had equipment to make firearm parts including milling machines, 3D printers and a laser engraving machine.
This is a much larger manufacturing operation than what the Sheriff's Office has seen in the past, he said.
"This is fairly atypical for what the Lane County Sheriff's Office deals with," Speldrich said. "It's a pretty substantial gun manufacturing operation that we came upon."
Deputies received information about the illegal gun manufacturing in the 3600 block of Ambleside Drive in Springfield and served a search warrant June 30. They seized more than 60 assembled firearms at first, dozens of homemade suppressors and enough parts to assemble more than 100 more, Speldrich said.
Only five of the firearms seized had serial numbers, and two of the guns were believed to be stolen. Guns assembled without serial-numbered components are often referred to as “ghost guns," due to them being untraceable.
Speldrich added that these kinds of 3D printers and other technology have made it easier for people to manufacture illegal weapons in recent years.
"Certainly the technology and availability of schematics and the parts to be able to assemble are increasing," he said.
Statewide:Salem man charged with running largest 'ghost gun' workshop in Oregon from home basement
Police also found several kinds of drugs at the residence including cocaine, methamphetamine and pills suspected to be fentanyl, Speldrich said. The amount of suspected fentanyl and meth led the Sheriff's Office to consider them commercial amounts not being used just for personal consumption.
One day after searching the house, a second warrant was served at a storage unit on Pierce Parkway belonging to the suspect from the home with the guns. Numerous additional firearms and gun parts were seized there, Speldrich said Wednesday.
The suspect, a 38-year-old Springfield man, is a convicted felon and is not allowed to possess guns. He was arrested June 30 and sent to Lane County Jail, but was then released pre-trial on his own recognizance (without needing to pay bail) by the state court system shortly after, in accordance with the recently enacted Senate Bill 48. The bill went into effect July 1 and reforms Oregon's pretrial release system and eliminates bail requirements for certain offenses.
He was lodged at the Lane County Jail on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, second-degree criminal trespassing, second-degree criminal mischief and second-degree theft.
The case remains under consideration by the Lane County District Attorney’s Office. The case is still under investigation, said Speldrich, who declined to comment on whether others might be implicated in the operation.
The man has not been arraigned or appeared yet in the state's court system as of Thursday afternoon.
Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.