A 40-year-old Seattle man who failed to register as a sex offender is headed to federal prison for just over three years after officers found a privately made 9mm ghost gun on him. Court filings say he was sentenced Monday to 37 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, and will have to comply with sex-offender registration rules once he is out. The case has renewed attention on how untraceable firearms and lapses in supervision collide for people convicted of sexual violence.
How he was found
According to a press release and reporting from KIRO 7, Department of Corrections officers tracked down Raymond Lawrence Massey in the Seattle area and discovered a privately manufactured 9mm pistol on him that was outfitted with a red-dot sight and an extended-capacity magazine. Investigators said Massey tried to run from officers but was detained, and afterward admitted the non-serialized handgun was his.
Prosecutors’ concerns and sentence
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecelia Gregson told the court that “The fact that the defendant committed this offense while on supervision is problematic in and of itself,” pointing out that Massey had twice escaped supervision and was not following registration rules. As KIRO 7 reports, the judge ordered 37 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of federal supervision and a requirement that Massey register as a sex offender.
Past conviction and registration failures
Court documents state that in 2011 Massey was convicted in Clark County of assault with sexual motivation for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old, and he served seven years in state custody before being released. Prosecutors said that after his release he moved to the Seattle area but did not register in King County and had absconded from community supervision before corrections officers eventually located him.
Why prosecutors are pushing ghost-gun cases
Federal prosecutors in Western Washington have been vocal about the risks posed by privately manufactured, un-serialized guns and have pushed for stiff penalties in similar cases. Last winter, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle secured a 27-month sentence in a separate case where officers found 20 privately made ghost guns and conversion devices in a single apartment, underscoring the office’s focus on untraceable weapons. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington detailed that earlier prosecution in a January press release.
Where the case stands now
The federal docket lists the case as USA v. Raymond Lawrence Massey (CR26-27), with proceedings in U.S. District Court in Seattle, in the Western District of Washington. The Western District of Washington court calendar shows the case’s scheduling and related entries for the week of sentencing. Records from the court and the U.S. Attorney’s Office will reflect any additional filings, appeals, or post-conviction actions in the coming weeks.
