A Brentwood man faces serious charges following his arrest for having in his possession a 3D-printed machine gun conversion device. The accused, 21-year-old Noah Kanaye Bauer, was responded to by officers from the Brentwood Police Department (BPD) on Sept. 6, 2024, following reports of an individual with a firearm in a local grocery store. According to the Department of Justice, they discovered Bauer with a 3D-printed Glock-style firearm, which notably had no serial number.
Further investigations at Bauer's residence, stemming from his initial arrest for carrying a concealed weapon, led BPD officers to uncover more unsettling findings. In Bauer's room, not just a 3D printing machine but also three 3D-printed pistol frames appeared next to a 3D-printed machine conversion device designed to upgrade a semi-automatic Glock-type pistol into a fully automatic machine gun. When officers questioned the purpose of these conversion devices, Bauer allegedly said, "to make it shoot faster."
Following his initial court appearance in Oakland's federal district court yesterday, Bauer's legal journey is far from over, with a detention hearing scheduled for next Monday. As announced by Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani, Bauer has been formally charged with one count of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), though it's essential to remember that a complaint simply alleges that a crime has been committed and is not a determination of guilt.
Under the looming maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, if convicted, Bauer will have to contend with a system steeped in skepticism and procedure. The FBI, with assistance from the BPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, conducted the investigation that led to Bauer's prosecution by the National Security and Special Prosecutions Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. As outlined in the DOJ announcement, "any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553."
