Drain Man Sentenced for Firearm Manufacturing Convictions
A Drain man was sentenced for illegally manufacturing firearms with a 3D printer. David Ralston, 35, pleaded guilty to three felony counts. He received probation, jail time served, and forfeited multiple firearms and parts.
DRAIN, Ore. — A Drain man was sentenced last week in Douglas County Circuit Court for crimes connected to the illegal manufacture of firearms, including weapons made with a three-dimensional printer.
Investigation and Search Warrant
The case began in October 2024, when the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT) started investigating allegations that David Anthony Ralston, 35, was using a 3D printer to build firearms without serial numbers. By December, investigators had gathered enough evidence to secure a search warrant.
On December 11, 2024, officers executed the warrant at Ralston’s residence on the 400 block of Division Street in Drain. Before the search, deputies stopped Ralston at the city limits and detained him.
Items Seized
During the search, officers seized a completed pistol with scaled grips resembling a Glock but lacking a serial number. They also found multiple parts and receivers believed to have been produced with a 3D printer.
Additional weapons included a semi-automatic rifle and a pump-action shotgun, both carrying serial numbers. Small amounts of methamphetamine and suspected dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a hallucinogenic drug, were also confiscated.
Court records note that Oregon law prohibits possessing, selling, or transferring a firearm without a serial number issued by a licensed firearms manufacturer or gunsmith.
Arrest and Indictment
Ralston was arrested on multiple charges, including felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of firearms without serial numbers, and drug possession. He was arraigned the next day and held on $15,000 bail. He posted a 10% bond and was released shortly afterward.
A week later, a grand jury indicted him on several counts related to firearms and narcotics.
Plea and Sentencing
On July 30, 2025, Ralston pleaded guilty to two counts of felon in possession of a firearm, both Class C felonies, and one count of unlawfully manufacturing, importing, or transferring a firearm, a Class B felony. Five other counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office cited Ralston’s prior felony conviction, a 2013 identity theft case, to establish that he was legally barred from owning firearms at the time of the offenses.
On August 14, he was sentenced to three years of probation and 15 days in the Douglas County Jail, with credit for time already served. His sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Ralston must also complete 15 days of community work crew under probation supervision.
Forfeiture of Weapons
As part of his conviction, several items were forfeited to the state, including:
- The semi-automatic rifle and shotgun with serial numbers
- A completed pistol without a serial number
- A carbine rifle without a serial number
- Multiple lower receivers, firearms parts, magazines, and assorted ammunition
Ralston has since been released from custody.
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