Oregon man indicted over state’s biggest ever ‘ghost gun’ bust
Tyler Ray Harnden faces up to life in prison if convicted on federal weapons and drug charges
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An Oregon man has been indicted by a grand jury over what police say is the state’s biggest ever “ghost gun” bust.
Tyler Ray Harnden, 29, is also accused of distributing fake oxycodone pills that were found to contain fentanyl.
Authorities say they discovered dozens of homemade firearm components and partly assembled guns at the suspect’s home in Salem, Oregon, last month.
Officers also found two loaded pistols, three assembled ghost guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition, 15 loaded high-capacity magazines and firearm manufacturing equipment.
Harnden cannot legally possess a firearm as he is a convicted felon, according to US Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon.
In a further search on a family member’s house, officials say they seized four guns and 63 additional firearms registered to Harnden. They also say they found 200 counterfeit pills.
Prosecutors allege that the suspect would get people with substance abuse issues to buy guns for him in exchange for the pills that he manufactured.
Harnden is currently in state custody and faces federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
The Justice Department describes ghost guns as “homemade firearms without serial numbers assembled from kits or materials sold without background checks, making them easily acquired by criminals who otherwise would not be permitted to possess a firearm and nearly impossible for law enforcement to track.”