Owatonna man sentenced for possessing unregistered gun

A 23-year-old Owatonna man who trafficked homemade firearms and threatened to kill law enforcement and politicians has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Dayton Sauke to 31 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release on Tuesday. Sauke was charged with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm last year and entered into a plea deal back in August.

Records show Sauke was making and selling firearms without a license and marketed his "ghost guns" on Snapchat. He described his wares as "untraceable" and "throwaway murder pieces." He also posted on social media that he intended to murder members of law enforcement or public officials days before protests of the presidential inauguration.

While state authorities prepared for possible attacks at the Minnesota Capitol, federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives purchased a privately made gun from him during an undercover sting operation on Jan. 15, 2021, according to court records.

Sauke told agents he could make more guns and had trafficked more than 100 Glocks in the past year. He also showed agents a sawed-off shotgun. Federal law requires shotguns with shortened barrels to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer record, but this gun was not registered in his name.