PORT ANGELES — A 43-year-old Sequim man was charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun after investigators said he tried on May 19 to sell a modified rifle that could be fired multiple times with one pull of the trigger.
Jesse L. Spencer was formally charged with the Class C felony in Clallam County Superior Court on Monday.
He is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Port Angeles police responded to a tip about a man who had a fully automatic rifle west of Sequim.
Detectives from the Port Angeles and Sequim police departments, Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Task Force and the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office mounted an investigation and executed two search warrants, court documents said.
Rifle altered
Spencer was found with an AR-15 5.56 mm, .223-caliber rifle that had been altered from its original design to function as an automatic machine gun, according to the charging documents.
Spencer was trying to sell the rifle to an informant at 33 Taylor Cutoff Road for $2,000, police said.
A Port Angeles police detective said he had determined that the trigger had been grinded, filed and polished to allow the hammer to contact the firing pin multiple times by pulling the trigger once.
Spencer, who also goes by Jesse Biker, told investigators that the weapon fired in “burst” mode when the trigger was depressed, according to the certification for probable cause.
Police said that the weapon had been intentionally altered.
State law defines a machine gun as a firearm modified or designed to fire continuously with one pull of the trigger so long as the trigger remains depressed, and proper ammunition is supplied to the weapon, according to Port Angeles police.
“Federal law allows for possession of a machine gun under limited circumstances with proper documentation,” Port Angeles Police Detective Jason Viada said in a written statement.
“However, each of the 50 states have their own laws as well.
“Washington state broadly prohibits possession of a machine gun with only a few exceptions for police, military, persons who repair weapons for police or military, exporters who comply with all federal laws, and persons who possessed a machine gun within Washington prior to July 1, 1994, in compliance with federal law.”
Clallam County Superior Court Judge S. Brooke Taylor released Spencer on his own recognizance after his first court appearance on Thursday.
Prosecutors had requested $15,000 bail and advised that they were waiting for the U.S. Attorney to file a detainer.
Spencer requested to be allowed to travel to Oregon when he was formally charged on Monday.
Judge George L. Wood said the court would rule on the request when Spencer has an attorney present at his arraignment.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
