Thurston County man accused of 3D-printing guns gets 30 days for weapons charges
A 43-year-old Lacey man accused of 3D-printing guns was sentenced in Thurston County Superior Court May 19.
Judge Mary Sue Wilson sentenced Michael Eby Barr to a total of 30 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to two counts of carrying a dangerous weapon, which is a gross misdemeanor.
Lacey police arrested Barr on Oct. 22, 2025, at a gas station on Yelm Highway Southeast near Pattison Lake, according to court records. Prosecutors initially charged him with two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of unlawful possession of a short-barreled shotgun, both of which are felonies. However, prosecutors amended the charges as part of a plea deal.
The Lacey Police Department coordinated the arrest with the Thurston County SWAT Team as well as state and federal bomb squad technicians, court records show. That same day, officers entered his home with a warrant and recovered an assortment of 3D-printed weapons and related items, court records said.
The home, located in the 5400 block of Pattison Lake Lane Southeast, contained two loaded firearms and firearm stocks as well as grenades and claymore mines containing no explosives, court records said. Officers also found 3D-printers and materials, ammunition, and various knives and weapons, according to court records.
Prosecutors alleged in court records that Barr advertised and shared information about 3D-printed gun designs on the internet and had a history of making violent threats toward law enforcement online.
In a statement filed with the court, Barr wrote there was a “factual basis” for the original charges and a “real risk” he could have been convicted at trial. He wrote that he “knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily” decided to plead guilty to the substituted charges to benefit from the plea bargain.
Wilson sentenced him to a total of 364 days for each count; however, she suspended 334 days for each count and allowed both sentences to run concurrently, according to court records. Hence, the 30-day sentence. He was not fined.
As a condition of his sentence, Wilson ordered him not to possess any firearms or ammunition while on supervision.
The Olympian was not immediately able to reach Wilson’s attorney for comment.
Barr was previously convicted of harassment, threat to kill, second-degree assault and hit and run attended vehicle/property damage in a 2020 Kitsap County Superior Court case, The Olympian previously reported.
