North Kingstown man to serve one year for making illegal ghost guns with a 3D printer
A 30-year-old North Kingstown man accused of illegally building guns with a 3D printer must serve a year in prison, according to Attorney General Peter F. Neronha's office.
Nicholas Dailey pleaded no contest to two counts of manufacture and possession of a ghost gun during an appearance before Judge Melanie Wilk Thunberg in Superior Court, Wakefield, on July 21, says a news release.
Since such guns, known as ghost guns, were banned in Rhode Island in 2020, the state has prosecuted almost 50 cases involving the "untraceable" weapons, Neronha said.
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“Ghost guns are fully operable firearms without serial numbers that thus cannot be traced by law enforcement after they are used in criminal activity," he said.
Prosecutors were prepared to present evidence showing that Dailey made several ghost guns, as well as several pistol frames with a 3D printer at a home in North Kingstown, says the release.
A traffic stop leads to an unusual finding
Based on a tip, Warwick police suspected that Dailey possessed some of the illegal guns and initiated a traffic stop on May 4, 2021, says the release.
During a search of his vehicle, it says, police found two unusual pistol magazines and several spent shell casings.
The magazines, capable of holding 17 rounds, for a 9mm pistol, did not have manufacturers markings on them, says the release. The magazines had patterns of parallel lines often seen on items printed with a 3D printer.
Dailey, says the release, admitted to officers that he possessed two 3D printed handguns at his home in North Kingstown.
In North Kingstown, it says, police detectives seized two complete 3D printed ghost gun copies of a 9mm Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun. Detectives also seized three defective 3D printed Glock 17 frames, a 3D printer, a laptop, and a box of 9mm ammunition.
Dailey later admitted that he had used the printer to make Glock 17 frames and magazines based on plans downloaded from the internet, says the release. He also admitted that he had ordered certain parts for the guns.
At the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory, police fired the guns and found them "operable," the release says.
North Kingstown police detectives Gregory Miga and Michael Bernardo and Assistant Attorney General Mark Trovato handled the case with assistance from Warwick police.
Dailey was sentenced to four years with one year to serve.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Nicholas Dailey to serve a year in prison for making ghost guns
