3D printed MAC-010 with drum mag. Frederick Shaw/Unsplash Photo

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert’s office announced that 32-year-old Joshua Markanson of Victorville, California, has pleaded guilty to various charges related to the unlawful manufacture and dealing of firearms. The charges include conspiring to unlawfully manufacture and deal firearms, unlawfully manufacturing and dealing in firearms, engaging in the business of manufacturing and dealing firearms without proper registration and tax payments, possession of unregistered firearms and possession of unserialized firearms.

Court documents reveal that between Nov. 13, 2017, and Dec. 14, 2017, Markanson participated in a conspiracy to produce and sell firearms through illegal channels. During this period, an undercover agent and a confidential informant, both working for law enforcement, conducted six undercover transactions with the conspirators, resulting in the purchase of more than 30 firearms. This included six unserialized short-barrel rifles and six unserialized silencers.

The investigation leading to these charges was carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with collaborative support from the Sacramento Police Department and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Lee and Cameron Desmond are overseeing the prosecution of this case.

Additionally, co-defendants Donte Robins and Rayshawn Wray were convicted of conspiracy to unlawfully deal firearms without a license. Robins received a nine-month prison sentence, while Wray was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Joshua Markanson is scheduled for sentencing on May 2, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley.

The charges carry varying statutory penalties, including a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to unlawfully manufacture and deal firearms and unlawful dealing and manufacturing firearms. For possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of an unserialized firearm, Markanson faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence will be determined by the court, considering relevant statutory factors and adherence to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Rob Pincus, a defensive trainer and consultant, whose outspoken views have brought both fans and detractors from inside and outside the gun rights community opined on the case in his Facebook 2AO.org Rights and Responsibilities Discussion Group. Pincus wrote:

This stings the community as well as much those directly involved.
There ARE legal ways for private individuals to make their own firearms in almost every State… but, they can’t be sold.
Licensed Manufacturers and Dealers have entered into an agreement with the government so that they can sell firearms and have obligations to follow, including serialization of guns and recording of transfers.
Many of us are fighting to remove the restrictions, but the restrictions do exist.

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34 COMMENTS

  1. Pincus:

    “There ARE legal ways for private individuals to make their own firearms in almost every State… but, they can’t be sold.”

    Wrong…wrong…wrong! This false information is parroted over the Interwebs repeatedly, yet is incorrect. A private individual may certainly assemble a gun and later transfer or sell it, as long as the individual did not originally assemble that gun with the intention of selling it</b.

  3. Forgive TTAG for any errors, we were all busy this weekend with the big NFL deception project.

    There had been some problems with the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce animatronic robots, but at the last moment we were able to resolve the software glitch and they performed wonderfully.

    Really, beaming the score up to the Italian satellites for ‘recalculation’ was very difficult but we just used the system we’ve been using for the elections and everything translated perfectly.

    We still had quite a bit of work, handing out the cash payoff envelopes to the San Francisco staff, crew and team was time consuming but it’s important that everybody gets their share.

    The key to a successful operation is a great plan, and for that we have Dark Brandon to thank. Without his steady, experienced leadership, we never could’ve put together a conspiracy quite so complex.

    Thanks, Dark Brandon!

        • howze about this for a conspiracy theory. biden and the fascist left actually care about the working class.

          Now that’s a knee slapper.

        • “biden and the fascist left actually care about the working class“

          I’m glad you recognize that fact, even though you hide it in ridicule…

          “I protest
          That many a true word hath been spoke in jest“

        • Yes, MajorLiar, Biden and his party, supported by graft, grift, and totally reliant on the votes of the government-dependent, illegal aliens, hopelessly stupid clowns such as yourself (who would vote for a rutabaga if it had a (D) after its name – oh, wait, you DID vote for Biden the Rutabaga, and plan to do it again!), and Wall Street, Big Banking, Hollyweird, and Silly-Con Valley millionaires and billionaires funding them, and run almost exclusively by rich, old white men is “the party of the working man”.

          You’re so effing pathetic, you sometimes rival the drooling idiocy of dacian the demented. Other than your lies about Xiao Bai-Din (always positive, even though deluded) and Donald Trump (a loudmouth braggart, but twice the Chief Executive Bai-Den will EVER be), all you got is you America hatred and your deluded, demented, Leftist/fascism.

          Stick up for your party, MajorLiar – I like it when idiot Leftist/fascists (ah, but I repeat myself) self-identify. Xiao-Bai-Den is as “in touch with the middle class and working class” as the two Bushes were. You are a clown; work on it.

    • True story, I was actually the backup singer for the black national anthem at the Super Bowl. Totally true, the BNA, not to be confused with BLM, is also known as: Lift Every WIC Card and Complain. It was written in 1619 by former slave, turned NY Times author Nikole Hannah-Barbera. The very same author who created the hyphenated ladies last name craze that continues to this day! She was also an early supporter of addadictome surgeries and other LGBT causes. Real deal history folks….. Look it up!

      • “an early supporter of addadictome surgeries and other LGBT causes“

        Florida Man enjoys thinking and writing about same sex activities, fascinating…

        • Mike V,

          What, you expected either consistency or honesty from MajorLiar?? Are you new here?? Two certainties about EVERY MajorLiar post – one, it will be more Leftist/fascist idiocy, and two, it will be a lie.

    • Funny how they trash the movie “2000 Mules” but the same technology used to track the drop box ‘mules’ is SUCCESSFULLY (and unconstitutionally,) imprisoning J6 attendees.

      Which is it, sh!itdiggingidiot?

      All BS in ‘Mules’ or all BS for J6?

  4. Unpossible. dacian assures us that just one more law will make this sort of thing no longer a thing.

    dacian isn’t full of sh*t is he?

  5. Now here is the truth. Make and sell as many firearms as you please, to anyone you please that isn’t a felon. Did anyone need federal govt authority to sell muskets in 1793, 94, 97, 89, etc….?? I’m gonna say probably not. Federal licensing for production, wholesaling, retailing, transportation, or possession are all complete and blatant violations of the 2A. While the Congress has authority to regulate commerce under Article I, the adoption of the 2A CLEARLY serves to exempt weapons from said regulation, hence an AMENDMENT!
    End of story.

    Unfortunately, the federal govt is now almost exclusively run by limousine communists and their useful idiots and thugs, across all three branches. Until this country grows a sack again, following Constitutional Law will land you in prison. This should be the tone of this article. Not that this guy makes other home gunmakers look bad.
    Please, do better TTAG.

    • THE Florida Gunfighter,

      I had a similar thought–that there are no “founding era historical analogs” of our laws which require people to have a license in order to manufacture and sell firearms.

      I have to wonder if an excellent attorney (representing these poor saps) had to merely threaten to challenge these convictions and their laws under the new Bruen standard at which point the U.S. Attorney’s office would have dropped the charges faster than a speeding bullet.

      (In case that last sentence did not make much sense, the last thing that our federal government wants is a federal court decision overturning our firearm manufacturing, serialization, and licensing laws. It is better in their eyes to drop the charges on those poor saps and let them go–and hence quash any reason to seek a court decision–than to get a court decision which completely eliminates their control over firearm production and selling.)

      • “there are no “founding era historical analogs” of our laws which require people to have a license in order to manufacture and sell” drugs or food.

        Oh great idea, no more regulation for the manufacture, sale and distribution of drugs, no more safe food preparation or handling laws, that oughta work really well.

        If there was no law against it in 1789, can’t be no law against it now.

        No laws regulating childcare, or requiring education for children.

        Pretty soon you folks will have us straight back to the Dark Ages, I’m sure there are plenty of religionists who yearn for the Inquisition to return.

        Let the witch finders ride again!

        • Does the NYSRPA v. Bruen Supreme Court decision address drugs, food, childcare or education? No — no, it doesn’t. It addresses guns and gun laws. For someone who thinks he’s so smart, you’re pretty stupid.

          “Oh great idea, no more regulation for the manufacture, sale and distribution of guns, no more infringement of 2A rights, or red flag laws, that’s how it oughta be.”

          Finally! You’re right about something!

        • MajorLiar,

          Since you already beclowned yourself by claiming that Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution TOTES authorized universal gun control, now you are going to come back and equate commercially preparing and selling food, or drugs, to exercising a specific right that the Constitution directly and expressly forbids the government from infringing. The normal question would be “Are you STOOPID???”, but we already know the answer to THAT question.

          And I’m sure you’d be TOTES OK with a Federal law prohibiting “growing your own”, because you’re a fascist. Fascinating how the Left of my youth (“Don’t trust anyone over 30” and “The government and the military-industrial complex are trying to kill us off with these phony wars” and “Tune in, turn on, drop out”) are now become bigger Puritan anchorites than our Puritan ancestors ever were.

          Did your mother drop you on your head repeatedly?? Just askin’, is all.

      • So you think the ‘history, text and tradition’ test only applies to the second amendment?

        Contrary to your position, appeals courts are already using the new test to decide cases far outside the scope of the second amendment:

        “But now, the court’s conservative majority has replaced those purpose-and-effect analyses, directing judges to decide the scope of a number of constitutional rights by simply looking to “historical practices and understandings,” without further specific guidance.“

        https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/supreme-courts-history-and-tradition-test-corrodes-church-state-barrier-2022-10-05/

        • And none of this would have been possible, miner. If your side had simply backed off trying to take human and civil rights away from we the people the courts would have had no reason to get involved.

          Your side pushed and now you’re whining at the pushback. Never read a history book, did you?

        • MajorLiar,

          Several points, that would be of interest to you, were you not a moron:

          1. Reuters, in their “commentary” report (which reads suspiciously like an NYT “opinion” colum – i.e., complete, partisan bullsh*ttery), is hardly a credible source for legal analysis (but you’re too stupid to know that); and

          2. “Purpose and effect is NEVER a valid source of judicial interpretation in a rational, ordered, society run on Constitutional principles (but you’re too stupid and historically ignorant to know that).

          Nice chatting with you, you uneducated @$$clown!

  7. Selling, loaning a firearm to someone you do not know extremely well is like handing your car keys to a sht faced drunk. You could be sued into oblivion and lucky if you have enough left to make a sign that sez, “will work for food.”

Comments are closed.