OKLAHOMA CITY – Law enforcement officers raided the northwest Oklahoma City home of a man who had been warned twice about dealing firearms without a license, and seized 194 firearms, more than three tons of ammunition, and nearly $470,000 in cash.
Phillip Niles Martin, 69, pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking and unlawful possession of a machinegun, and was sentenced to two years in federal prison, Oklahoma Western District U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester announced.
The U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives received multiple tips in June 2022 that Martin and an individual identified in court records as “T.F.” were illegally dealing in firearms at an Oklahoma City swap meet.
An investigation revealed that Martin sold firearms at significantly inflated rates – approximately double retail price – without completing the background checks required by law.
“One party reported further that Martin and T.F. sold firearms with obliterated or filed-off serial numbers, as well,” and said the two “removed these particular firearms from their table when uniformed police officers were nearby.”
An ATF special agent learned that neither Martin nor T.F. was a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer of firearms.
According to public records, Martin was the subject of two previous ATF investigations for similar conduct. He received a verbal warning in 2013 for dealing firearms without a license, and was advised that even with a license he could not deal firearms at an Oklahoma City swap meet. He said he understood “and advised that he would just sell ammunition and gun parts,” the ATF reported.
In 2020 Martin acknowledged receipt of an ATF cease-and-desist letter after a firearm that he had purchased was recovered at a crime scene in Mexico.
When a search warrant was executed at Martin’s residence in northwest Oklahoma City last year, agents seized 194 firearms that included rifles, pistols and shotguns; approximately 6,100 pounds of ammunition; $469,520 in cash; and a conversion device commonly known as a “switch,” which when installed converts a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic machinegun in violation of federal law.
Martin was charged in Oklahoma City’s federal court on Feb. 16, 2024, and he pleaded guilty to the two charges on March 11.
At the sentencing hearing on Oct. 23, U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman sentenced Martin to serve 24 months in federal prison, followed by three years in supervised release. In announcing his sentence, Dishman noted the fact that Martin had not been deterred from such conduct by prior warnings from law enforcement.