A resident of Seattle was recently charged federally with four federal felonies connected to his possession of a so-called “ghost gun” and drugs in a stolen vehicle, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

Jade B. Irey was arrested at an auto parts store in Kent on March 24, 2022.

He was brought into federal custody on Aug. 23, 2022, and was to make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court last week in Seattle.

“The prevalence of ghost guns in our communities is serious problem,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “Unregistered, fully automatic, and with an extended magazine, this weapon and others like it do not belong in anyone’s hands, let alone those engaged in the drug trade on our streets.”

According to the criminal complaint, Irey was under investigation for a December 2021 burglary in Bellevue, after he apparently dropped his cell phone while leaving the scene. The resident turned the cell phone over to police. Bellevue Police put Irey under surveillance, following him and an associate from his residence in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle to stops throughout the area. When a records check indicated the vehicle Irey was driving was stolen, police arrested Irey inside the auto parts store in Kent. A search of the car turned up the ghost gun and a pouch containing methamphetamine, black tar heroin, and 700 suspected fentanyl pills. Using court authorized search warrants, investigators reviewed information on Irey’s electronic devices detailing his drug sales and ownership of the firearm.

Irey is charged with unlawful possession of a machine gun, possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Irey is prohibited from possessing firearms due to three felony convictions from 2018 in King County Superior Court. Irey was convicted of residential burglary, residential burglary and trafficking in stolen property, and residential burglary and identity theft.

The federal gun charges are punishable by up to ten years in prison. The drug distribution charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum five years in prison to run consecutive to any other sentence.

The charges contained in the complaint are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the Bellevue Police Department Special Operations Unit with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg.