Solon man sentenced to federal prison after being found with illegal silencers

Hunter
09/03/21

A Solon man has been sentenced to federal prison after an investigation found that he had illegal firearm silencers and nearly two pounds of marijuana at his residence.

The Gazette reports that 49-year-old Christopher Hay was sentenced last week in Federal Court to 30 months in prison. He pleaded guilty in April of being in possession of unregistered firearms and being a drug user in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Court documents say authorities were alerted to Hay after US Customs and Border Patrol agents in San Francisco and Chicago found suspicious packages from China addressed to Hay. They reportedly contained over a dozen “fuel filters,” which in reality were pieces that are easily converted into firearm silencers.

A search warrant was executed at Hay’s residence, and they found over three dozen firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and nearly 2 pounds of marijuana. They also located four silencers, one of which was attached to a firearm.

Hay allegedly admitted that he illegally converted two of the firearms into fully automatic machine guns. He also admitted to purchasing the fuel filters with the intent of turning them into silencers.

Hay must serve three years of supervised release after he serves his prison term.