Salem man sentenced to federal prison after illegally selling machine gun

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A 61-year-old Salem man was sentenced to federal prison on Monday for illegally selling a Russian PPSh-41 machine gun, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

According to the court documents, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives learned that Daniel Matthew Kittson was attempting to sell the gun, which authorities said was capable of firing close to 900 rounds per minute.

Kittson also had prior convictions for attempted murder, first-degree manslaughter and felon in possession of a weapon, which made owning any kind of firearm illegal.

Investigators said that in 2020, they communicated with Kittson and arranged to purchase the weapon and after completing the sale, they tested the gun and confirmed it was a functional machine gun.

In March 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland charged Kittson with illegally possessing and transferring a machine gun and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon.

Kittson was arrested in May 2021 and was released following his first appearance in federal court. However, the court documents said he fled from pretrial supervision in June 2022 and was found three months later in Crook County, where he was arrested in possession of a firearm, meth and heroin.

Later in August 2023, a jury found Kittson guilty of illegally transferring a machine gun and he was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.