A Sheridan man reportedly found with a cache of 3D-printed guns and home-grown marijuana now faces a dozen misdemeanor charges in Sheridan Circuit Court.
Joshua Dunn, 35, faces 10 counts of being a nonviolent felon in possession of a firearm, plus two counts of cultivating marijuana, all misdemeanors each punishable by up to six months in jail. The charges follow an April 2 court-warranted search of his home.
Before 2023, Wyoming state prosecutors could not charge a person for being a nonviolent felon in possession of a firearm. Only federal prosecutors could.
But lawmakers enacted the state ban that year. Some rationalized that courts would not recognize the state’s attempts to restore nonviolent, federally convicted felons’ gun rights unless the state also banned them from owning guns.
In Dunn’s case, he was convicted in 2012 of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor for having sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 23, court documents say. That crime is not categorized as a violent felony under Wyoming law.
He received a split sentence of 90 days in jail followed by five years’ probation, his case file says.
The Haul
Three Sheridan Police Department agents took a warrant April 2 to seize guns and other crime evidence sitting in plain sight from Dunn’s home in Sheridan, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed in his recent case.
The police reportedly found the following:
- One 9 mm pistol
- One .380 pistol
- One AR-style rifle
- One .223 hunting rifle
- Two .22 rifles
- One rifle of unknown caliber
- One .410 shotgun
- One AK-47-style rifle
- One Remington shotgun
- Plastic outside portions of a rifle
- Six 3D-printed firearms with manufactured firearms parts installed inside
- Various gun parts and accessories, including barrels and sights
- A black container holding marijuana seeds
- A clear Ziploc bag containing marijuana seeds
- One marijuana plant in a peat pellet
- One dead plant suspected to be marijuana
- Ammunition boxes full of copious amounts of ammunition in various calibers
- A plastic Tupperware containing used THC cartridges with residue
- Various paraphernalia items, including a bong and pipe, with residue
- Several empty containers showing a THC warning label on the outside
- A 3D printer and several rolls of 3D printing filament.
Started With An Internet Post
Police became interested in this case starting in January, according to a Thursday post to the Sheridan police and fire agencies’ joint Facebook page.
A Sheridan Police Department officer noticed postings on a website indicating a convicted felon and sex offender was manufacturing guns with a 3D printer, the post says, adding that further investigation yielded a warrant, which in turn yielded the massive gun bust.
“This investigation is an example of the excellent proactive policing that SPD officers undertake to keep Sheridan safe,” says the post.
In a Friday interview, Police Chief Travis Koltiska complimented his staff for proactive policing, and said the technology of 3D printing has become “kind of frightening” in its ability to produce firearms for disqualified owners.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
