Former Regina tattoo artist gets 7-year sentence for 3D printing guns

Article content

For what he did with a 3D-printer — for what he called a “stupid idea” that got away on him — a 39-year-old father has been handed a seven-year sentence.

Article content

Greg Meyer pleaded guilty to two charges in Regina’s Court of King’s Bench on Monday.

Article content

First, that in the year 2020 he manufactured firearms, knowing he wasn’t authorized to do so. In addition, he also owned firearms, ammunition, prohibited devices, and other prohibited items during that time.

According to Crown Prosecutor Arjun Shahar, the proceedings were the result a major investigation into 3D printed guns in Saskatchewan. They ended with a sentence that was among the first of its kind in Canada.

The prosecutor read from a statement of facts that he had prepared before Justice Lana Krogan. He told a story about a man who used 3D printing technology to commit a crime twice.

Article content

After a person reported an incident on Edgar Street, May 8, 2020, police were called. While no weapon was found, police spoke to a teenager who claimed Meyer made guns in his home with a 3D-printer.

Meyer was taken into custody after further investigation and surveillance.

A variety of gun parts were found in searches around the incident, including handgun receivers and ammunition. A cellphone believed to belong to Meyer contained text messages “discussing the buying and selling of 3D-printed Glock firearms,” Shankar noted.

Article content

Meyer was charged, but then released on conditions, including that he live at his grandmother’s residence and that he not use a 3D-printer.

Police kept an eye on him. Surveillance showed that he was making and moving weapons and police found him in violation of an electronic monitoring condition.

More searches were done, including at Meyer’s grandmother’s home in a small town southeast of Regina, and police again found 3D-printed gun parts, as well as a fully-functioning 3dD-printed handgun.

In total, Shankar said the case involved about 14 guns, and while only the one was fully functioning, he told Krogan that a number of others were “very nearly operable.”

Crown and defence jointly submitted the proposal for seven-year sentences

Article content

“It’s a very lengthy sentence for something that doesn’t involve any actual violence,” Meyer’s lawyer Dave Andrews told the judge.

But given conversation he’d had about the case and research into the sentencing landscape, the defence lawyer said he viewed the sentence as appropriate.

He provided the judge a brief background, painting a picture of his client as a person who’d fallen in with the wrong crowd at a young age, after his parents had been divorced and his grandparents raised him.

Andrews stated that the man convicted had held several jobs, including being a Regina tattoo artist and having four children.

In briefly addressing the court, Meyer himself said: “I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused.”

It was then he acknowledged his conduct as being the result of a “stupid idea.”

Article content

Shankar observed that firearms offences can be classified as either regulatory offenses or trafficking in the direction of a criminal group. Although there was no evidence Meyer’s manufacturing was in conjunction with a criminal organization, Shankar suggested nonetheless that the man’s actions fell to the more serious end of the spectrum.

His criminal history included firearm convictions and prior violence. He was also subject to a weapons ban at the time of his offence.

Meyer’s sentence included seven years for the manufacturing charge and two years to be served concurrently for the possession charge. He is now serving just under four years of his sentence, with credit for the time he served before sentencing.

Article content

He was also issued a lifetime weapon prohibition and told to submit a sample of his DNA for forensic analysis. Judge also issued non-contact and forfeiture orders.

Krogan said the sentence she imposed reflects Meyer’s stated remorse, his previous criminal history, mitigating factors such as health conditions and a challenging youth, as well as aggravating circumstances such as his continued offending after his first arrest, prior weapons prohibition, the presence of drugs, the number of guns involved and the “fact that these were handguns,” which are easily concealed.

“I sure hope this has been a lesson,” the judge said to the accused man.

“Biggest one in my life,” he responded.

[email protected]

It seems like the news is flying faster than ever. It can be difficult to keep up with the news, from COVID-19 updates to crime and politics to everything in between. To help you stay informed, Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter. This newsletter can be delivered daily directly to your email. Subscribe by clicking here