DETROIT – A 30-year-old Detroit man who has showed support for a foreign terrorist organization was sentenced Wednesday for trading a handgun he bought through a straw purchaser for parts to build grenades, officials said.
Sebastian Gregerson pleaded guilty March 30 to possessing an unregistered destructive device, and pleaded guilty May 2 buying a firearm through a straw purchaser, Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel L. Lemisch said.
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Court records said Gregerson bought a Glock 31 .357-caliber handgun on Feb. 16, 2014 through a straw purchaser in Virginia. The straw purchaser went to a gun show in Virginia, where he bought the gun for Gregerson.
Gregerson paid cash for the gun and identified the one he wanted. At the time of the transaction, the straw purchaser completed a federal firearms form indicating that he was the buyer of the gun, when, in fact, Gregerson was the buyer.
Court records show Gregerson met with an undercover FBI employee on July 31, 2016 at a gas station in Monroe. Gregerson traded his Beretta M9 handgun for grenade parts containing explosives that were designed to be used to assemble grenades.
The grenades are considered destructive devices that must be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Gregerson did not register the destructive devices.
Court records said Gregerson has made statements online and in person to show his support for the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), a foreign terrorist organization. He also made statements about committing violent acts, officials said.
Gregerson was arrested July 31, 2016. Officials recovered the Glock handgun from Gregerson's home.
Gregerson was sentenced Wednesday to 45 months in prison for the possession of destructive devices charge and nine months concurrently on the firearm charge, Lemisch said.