Jury acquits Columbiana man on gun silencer charge

Staff report

CLEVELAND

A jury in federal court acquitted a Columbiana County man of a gun- silencer possession charge Thursday after nearly an hour of deliberation at the end of a two-day trial.

Brent See, 40, was facing up to 10 years in prison had he been convicted, said Atty. David Betras, who defended See.

The trial was before U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent.

See’s defense was he possessed muzzle breaks that reduce gun recoil, not silencers that muffle the sound of gunfire, Betras said.

A U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives expert testified that only a tube had to be placed over the devices to create silencers, but a defense expert witness contradicted that, Betras said.

A federal grand jury had indicted See in September 2016 on a single count of illegal gun-silencer possession, but that indictment said authorities seized 194 silencers when they executed a federal search warrant at See’s East Palestine machine shop Aug. 9, 2016.

The case was prosecuted by David M. Toepfer, a Youngstown-based assistant U.S. attorney.

Mike Tobin, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said his office respects the jury’s verdict.