Watervliet man admits to making illegal ‘ghost guns’

A Watervliet man pleaded guilty Wednesday to making and selling “ghost guns.”

Sean Patrick, 45, admitted that between June 2021 and November 2022, he built and sold four semiautomatic pistols without serial numbers. Patrick did not have a firearms dealer license or any paperwork on the weapons, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Police searched his home and found four more privately manufactured semiautomatic guns without serial numbers and a semiautomatic pistol, investigators said. There were also assorted gun kits and fabrication tools and over a thousand rounds of ammunition in his residence, prosecutors said. 

Patrick faces a maximum term of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when sentenced on Sept. 19. He also faces up to three years of post-release supervision.