FORT SMITH — A Fort Smith man scheduled to go on trial Monday in federal court on a charge of illegal possession of a machine gun instead pleaded guilty to the charge.
Ryan Doughty was arrested Sept. 27 as he was leaving his home at 4313 S. 22nd St. to meet with an undercover agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Doughty was going to sell the agent an AK-47-style rifle he had converted from semi-automatic to automatic, according to court documents.
Sentencing will follow completion of a presentence investigation by the court’s probation office, which normally takes about six weeks.
The agent stated in an affidavit that he learned from a Little Rock gun dealer that Doughty had the gun for sale.
In e-mail messages he exchanged with the agent, Doughty stated he spent a lot of time with guns and learned how to convert the AK-47-style rifle to automatic. He sent along a video showing a man firing an AK-47 machine gun.
Doughty also wrote to the agent offering the AK-47-style machine gun without a stock for sale or offering to convert another, with a stock, to fully automatic.
According to court records, the agent made arrangements to meet Doughty to buy the gun on Sept. 27. Other agents were conducting surveillance on Doughty and stopped him as he was leaving his home to meet with the agent.
He did not have the gun with him then but agents obtained a search warrant and located the gun hidden in a carport at the home, according to the court records.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 8 on 01/08/2013