Barberton man sentenced to 17.5 years for ‘ghost guns’

PHOTO PROVIDED BY U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

BGNN staff report

A Barberton man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for manufacturing firearms and machine gun conversion devices from his home using a 3D printer and selling them through a popular social media platform, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Ohio.

Alexander Beattie, 34, of Barberton, was sentenced to 210 months (17.5 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams after pleading guilty in May to: engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license; engaging in the business of manufacturing and dealing firearms without a license; manufacturing a firearm without a license; felon in possession of ammunition, previous convictions for burglary in 2011 and domestic violence in 2018; possession of child pornography, the Sept. 2 news release states. Beattie was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and to pay $54,500 in restitution and $5,000 in Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act assessments. The sentence was imposed Aug. 28.

According to court documents, from about Feb. 1 to Nov. 4, 2024, Beattie used a 3D printer to manufacture illegal firearms, parts, and suppressors in his house. These firearms without serial numbers are untraceable and typically manufactured at home and are known as “ghost guns.”

During the investigation, agents also found that Beattie’s electronic devices contained child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse materials, that included children who were under the age of 12. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Toni Schnellinger Feisthamel for the