Northfield man possession of a machine gun

View · by **mrp** on Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:55 pm

Can someone explain how he (allegedly) ended up with a machine gun?

Northfield man indicted on federal possession of a machine gun charge

http://www.southernminn.com/northfield_ ... 36000.html

The indictment, filed Thursday, says that Edward Evan Lasley, 37, of Northfield, was in possession of a “Nodak Spud, LLC, model NDS-1948, 9 mm machine gun” on July 15.

View · by **xd ED** on Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:03 pm

mrp wrote:Can someone explain how he (allegedly) ended up with a machine gun?

Northfield man indicted on federal possession of a machine gun charge

http://www.southernminn.com/northfield_ ... 36000.html

The indictment, filed Thursday, says that Edward Evan Lasley, 37, of Northfield, was in possession of a “Nodak Spud, LLC, model NDS-1948, 9 mm machine gun” on July 15.

My Guess-
from the linked article:

Bruce Velzke, sales manager at Alhman’s in Morristown, said it’s extremely difficult to obtain a receiver designated as a machine gun. In order to do so, special licensing and proper documentation must be filled out.
However, even though a receiver may never be designated and sold as a machine gun, people can legally buy a receiver designated as a semi-automatic, in which it can then be altered to shoot like a machine gun.
“Most people who know enough on how to modify it, they know it’s a federal offense,” he said.

View · by **Rip Van Winkle** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 5:55 am

I wonder what he did to tip off the Fed's?

View · by **cobb** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 5:59 am

Rip Van Winkle wrote:I wonder what he did to tip off the Fed's?

He maybe fired it full auto. There has been a couple times years ago when someone was shooting full auto at a local club and the sheriff turned up to check it out. A friend of mine was with another friend and shooting his full auto at a range in either the Waseca or Owatonna area and law enforcement showed up.

View · by JJ on Tue Sep 22, 2015 9:22 am

mrp wrote:Can someone explain how he (allegedly) ended up with a machine gun?

Northfield man indicted on federal possession of a machine gun charge

http://www.southernminn.com/northfield_ ... 36000.html

The indictment, filed Thursday, says that Edward Evan Lasley, 37, of Northfield, was in possession of a “Nodak Spud, LLC, model NDS-1948, 9 mm machine gun” on July 15.

Knowing the indicted, i would guess he built it from a stripped/flat.

View · by **Ron Burgundy** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 9:41 am

What's his screen name?

View · by **bstrawse** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 9:42 am

I checked the documents filed w/ the federal court (via PACER) - the indictment just cites possession of an unregistered machine gun -- the actual affadavit for probable cause wasn't in the online file, which is really what would have the case details.

Given that he bought a legitimate lower, I suspect he turned this into a machine gun himself.
b

View · by **photogpat** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 10:00 am

Those are an UZI type lower.

View · by **jshuberg** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 10:17 am

The NDS-1948 receiver he was in possession of is the receiver for an Uzi. NoDak doesn't sell complete firearms, just receivers in various states of completion for people to use in builds. I'm familiar with their AR lowers and uppers that people use in retro builds.

Presumably, it was a virgin receiver that he completed using a kit or other separately purchased Uzi parts. BATFE has a mishmash of what their technical group considers a machine gun, which doesn't necessarily have to make a whole lot of sense. For example, the presence of a hole in an AR15 where the auto sear pin would be installed is considered to make it a machine gun, absent any other parts, and even if the rear of the fire control pocket isn't milled out and an auto sear simply would fit in the gun, a hole in the receiver makes it a machine gun. Even if it's actually only capable of firing one round per trigger press.

It's quite possible that what happened here is that the builder of the Uzi made a mistake somewhere. That he ran afoul of BATFE's spider web of what constitutes what, and innocently found himself in possession of a machine gun, despite the fact that it may have only been capable of firing one round per press of the trigger. It could have been as innocent of one wrong part, or one wrong hole, etc.

It's also possible that he did in fact build a fully automatic Uzi, but knowing that NoDak sells receivers for people to then build into fully functional firearms, it's not beyond reason that this guy could have simply made a mistake in his build. I suggest we reserve judgement until we discover what kind of "machine gun" the guy had. Was it a semi-auto with a technical mistake, or was it genuinely a full-auto?

Interestingly, and I don't know when it happened, NoDak is no longer selling the NDS-1948, although there are some up on gunbroker and other places for sale in various states of completion. This will be interesting to follow. This doesn't happen very often, let alone in MN.

View · by **Ron Burgundy** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 11:19 am

This is the Internet. We judge first and maybe look at the facts later if it is convenient.

I would be surprised if it turns out to be an honest mistake and case of drilling the wrong hole. If that was the case, how did come to the attention of the authorities?

View · by **jshuberg** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 11:34 am

I'm not saying that this is necessarily the case, just that it's a possibility. There have been people who have been convicted of possession of an unregistered machine gun for simply having a rifle that experienced a hammer-follow malfunction which resulted in more than one round being fired per trigger press. My point was, what "machine gun" means to you and me, and what it means to the BATFE technical group do not necessarily always line up the way you'd expect.

If he did actually and knowingly build a machine gun in violation of federal law, then he's in a whole world of trouble. Looking at his Facebook page, he's a gunsmith, and has several posted videos where machine guns were being fired. It makes me think a mistake is more unlikely, but I still think we should wait for the facts to come out before passing judgement. It could also be that he had a class II manufacturing license that he let expire, but didn't dispose of the weapon properly, ie sell it to someone legally allowed to posses it.

I'm sure the facts will come out, and we'll see if this was an honest mistake or if it was an intentional criminal act.

View · by **george** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 11:55 am

As a 07 class II, all it would take is a improper log in during an inspection.
I'll say now I didn't tell, who did ? (keep in mind, there monitoring this)

View · by **jshuberg** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 2:16 pm

That's a good point, it could just be a bookkeeping error if he was currently licensed as a class II.

View · by **Squib Joe** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 2:26 pm

This involved "a lengthy investigation and collaboration between local agencies" before the arrest

That doesn't happen after your gun doubles at the range while testing.

He didn't have a manufacturing license according to the ATF listings

View · by **jshuberg** on Tue Sep 22, 2015 3:00 pm

Squib Joe wrote:This involved "a lengthy investigation and collaboration between local agencies" before the arrest

That doesn't happen after your gun doubles at the range while testing.

He didn't have a manufacturing license according to the ATF listings

Actually, that kind of depends. BATFE has been known to bring in tanks and kill the family of a guy living in the woods because he chopped the barrel of a shotgun off 1/4" too short.

If he wasn't a licensed manufacturer, but was a gunsmith, chances are he knew what he was doing, and is in very serious trouble.
Which sucks, because it casts a shadow on those of us who jump through all the hoops to own full-autos legally.