Shoreline gunsmith charged with illegal possession of a machine gun

Gunsmith charged with converting firearm to illegal machine gun

Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer sold weapon to undercover ATF Agent

The owner of ‘Joe’s Guns and Stuff,’ a business in Shoreline, at 15822 26th Ave NE, 98155 was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle with two counts of illegal possession of a machine gun, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.

Daniel Joseph Hungerford, 73, allegedly modified and sold two illegal firearms to an undercover ATF agent. The firearms were made to fire in rapid bursts of ammunition – as a machine gun. Possession of machine guns by private citizens is illegal under federal law. Hungerford made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Seattle at 2:00pm Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint, on April 10, 2018, Hungerford sold an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) a .300 Blackout rifle where the lower receiver had been modified to accept an M16 automatic sear.

The modifications made the firearm a three round burst machine gun. When making the sale, Hungerford did not complete any of the required paperwork or conduct a background check as required by federal law.

On a second visit a few days later, the undercover agent again purchased gun parts that had been modified to create a machine gun. Hungerford discussed his firearms work with the agent and showed him parts where the serial numbers used to identify the gun manufacturer and registration had been removed.

Illegal possession of a machine gun is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the ATF and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bruce Miyake.