A Canal Township man has been charged in U.S. District Court for knowingly and unlawfully possessing firearms not registered to him after allegedly selling machine guns to an undercover agent in March.
An agent with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a criminal complaint that Theodore D. Brown, 60, was discovered to have been manufacturing auto sears and “AR” style weapons. The complaint said the investigation was launched in January.
The complaint detailed that an undercover special agent with the ATF established contact with Brown on Feb. 7. During a recorded call, Brown asked if the agent was interested in obtaining machine guns, which he referred to as toys, the complaint said.
During that meeting, Brown produced drop-in auto sears and demonstrated to the agent how he put them together, saying he made all the pieces himself except for the springs, the complaint said.
The agent returned to Brown’s residence on March 22 to pay a remaining balance of $1,260 and test fire the guns the complaint said.
Brown appeared in court last week and has been released on a $10,000 unsecured bond. He is scheduled
to return to federal court for his preliminary examination on April 10.
