ROSE CITY, Mich. – A Michigan man is accused of building fully automatic machine guns and silencers for motorcycle clubs that he claimed are preparing for “war” with the Hells Angels, according to officials.
Jason William Myers, 53, of Rose City, Michigan, is named in a criminal complaint that was filed Nov. 28. He is accused of dealing firearms without a license.
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ATF speaks with confidential informant
On Sept. 16, members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives met with a confidential informant who said Myers manufactured and sold machine guns and silencers.
The informant said Myers bragged about supplying weapons to the Outlaws and Avengers motorcycle clubs. He said Myers had sold him weapons in the past, including a .22-caliber, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a 9 mm pistol.
The informant said he has sold “ice” -- street slang for crystal methamphetamine -- to Myers, who both uses and sells the drug, according to authorities.
Officials said Myers told the informant that he makes fully automatic machine guns out of assault rifle builds and fully automatic pistol builds.
Myers has admitted to dealing guns to “Frankenstein,” the leader of the Avengers, in the past, according to the informant.
Cellphone videos of Myers
ATF agents received cellphone videos and screenshots from the informant on Sept. 23. The videos and screenshots were from Sept. 21.
Myers could be heard saying that he uses titanium tubes with nine cups for “individual chambers drilled just for bullet size,” the criminal complaint says.
Myers said the silencers are good for 2,000-2,500 rounds before they “wear out,” officials said.
When the informant asked what made the firearm fully automatic, Myers described his modifications, saying he “drills from the inside ... take this notch out ... take that sear, drop it right on top and it’ll be fully automatic.”
“In my training and experience, Myers is describing the internal mechanism (drop-in sear) and how it is installed in order to make a firearm fully automatic,” the criminal complaint reads.
Myers told the informant that it takes “about two days, because it’s pretty f------ precise,” according to authorities.
The process includes drilling, machining, and internal boring. Myers described the gas ports and how the gas was released into each chamber so the pressure couldn’t go outward. That makes the shots quiet, according to the complaint.
On Sept. 30, Myers sent a text to the informant, saying, “The other is done, except for the drop in and quiet time. I finished it the day you left. I can get that to you late tonight or tomorrow a.m. before 6, if you have the cash.”
Officials said the “drop in” referred to the sear, which converts the weapon to fully automatic. The “quiet time” references the silencer.
Undercover agent makes purchase
On Oct. 3, the informant contacted the ATF to say that Myers told him he had three fully automatic machine guns completed and ready for sale at his home on Townline Road in Rose City.
The informant said Myers asked about getting a half pound of crystal meth from him, the criminal complaint says.
The informant also said Myers sells cocaine.
The informant and an undercover ATF agent went to Myers’ house on Townline Road on Oct. 4. When they arrived, Myers was assembling an Anderson Manufacturing, AM-15 rifle.
Myers said he had been in the military for 26 years. While he was in the Marine Corps, he built and/or worked on firearms, which is why he still does so, according to authorities.
There were several rifles leaning against Myers’ workshop, the undercover agent said. When asked about an AR-15, Myers explained that it was loaded, fully automatic, and equipped with a night scope, officials said.
The undercover agent asked what the rifle costs, and Myers said it was $1,100, but it belonged to “a customer” named “Chip.”
Myers also referenced a rifle barrel in the workshop, and the undercover agent asked if he could buy a rifle that day. Myers said that was the barrel he would put on the rifle because it was a match grade barrel, but told the agent, “I can do anything you want,” authorities said.
“Myers added that he makes very specific barrels for very specific guns,” the criminal complaint says. “Myers explained he had a mill room next to the workshop and then showed (the undercover agent) the milling tools. Myers had a couple vertical mills and a horizontal mill.”
When the undercover agent held the rifle, he commented on how light it was, officials said. Myers told him he used aircraft aluminum, which couldn’t be tracked. The agent asked if Myers had any silencers, and he said he could make them, the complaint says.
Myers told the agent that he usually charges between $400-$500, depending on the length of the silencers.
He also showed the agent the piece of aluminum he makes the drop-in sears out of, saying he had a piece that he was going to use for “one of the Jokers,” meaning a member of the Jokers motorcycle club, according to authorities.
“Myers stated there is about to be a war, referencing violence between the Hells Angels motorcycle club and Outlaw motorcycle club,” the complaint reads.
Officials said Myers handed the agent a piece of aluminum that he would make an auto sear out of, saying, “All you’re going to do is drop this in right below your trigger, and it’s going to make it fully automatic.”
Myers showed the agent a piece of paper with a drawing of a fully automatic sear. The drawing was “full dimensions of the sear,” he said.
Myers told the agent he couldn’t sell the rifle and the aluminum to him at the same time. He said he separates the sales between the two items and offered to meet the agent in the Flint area to deliver the auto sear, according to officials.
The agent said there were multiple maglite flashlights on Myers’ workbench that can be used to make silencers. When the agent asked if those were silencers, Myers said no, but they will look like a flashlight end without the flashlight, authorities said.
Myers said they would be 9.5 inches and made with two titanium caps with aluminum cones inside. After 1,500-2,000 shots, the user can open one cap, dump the cones out, and put in another set of cones. Myers said he would provide two or three sets of cones, the criminal complaint says.
He described the sound of shot as being similar to a BB gun going off, the undercover agent said.
The agent paid Myers $1,100 for the Anderson Manufacturing, AM-15 rifle. Myers asked how the agent wanted the rifle built and said, “So you want to go with a 16-inch barrel,” according to the complaint.
Myers said he was going to set the gun up to be fully automatic and put a flash hider on it. He said he would sell metal clips for $15 each, the agent said.
When asked how much the rifle would cost with a silencer and a full sear, Myers said $750 for the gun and $500 for the other two pieces. Myers said it would cost $1,200 total.
Myers told the undercover agent there were three people ahead of him, so his order would be fourth in line. He put the rifle in a rifle bag and a 100-round magazine in another, officials said.
The undercover agent called Myers on Oct. 13 and asked if the gun was ready. Myers said he had just completed three of them that day and said the aluminum for the agent’s gun was not in yet. He was waiting to get the aluminum from Boeing or Honeywell, according to authorities.
Myers said once the gun was finished, he would bring it to the undercover agent the following day.
Shotgun seized in Genesee County
On Nov. 9, someone called the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office to say two known drug dealers had come to his house. One of them sold the other a Mossberg 500 pump action shotgun for $300, according to the criminal complaint.
The confidential informant told deputies that the shotgun had been altered by a “known illegal gun dealer,” identified as Myers.
One of the drug dealers told the informant that he had bought the shotgun and several other guns directly from Myers, officials said.
The shotgun was left in the informant’s garage, and authorities seized it.
Charge
The criminal complaint concludes there’s probable cause to charge Myers with dealing firearms without a license.
