Black Diamond resident Ross Heinzinger recently pleaded guilty to possessing illegal weapons, including unregistered silencers, automatic weapons, and unregistered firearms.

His plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo on Feb. 3.

In January 2024, Heinzinger and his partner Ashley Ross were arrested after a year-long investigation and charged with two counts possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute; two counts of possessing an illegal “machinegun”; one count of possessing an unregistered firearm; and one count of possessing an unregistered silencer.

The investigation began in 2022 when the pair was arrested in Port Ludlow, WA, when a law officer spotted them passed out in a vehicle with drug paraphernalia in plain view; a search warrant later allowed police to discover “privately-made” (3D-printed) firearms, Glock conversion devices that turns semi-automatic weapons into an automatic weapons, high capacity magazines, tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and hundreds of fentanyl pills.

Additionally, videos on Heinzinger’s phone appeared to show him selling weapons to a convicted felon.

Law enforcement raided their Black Diamond apartment, a Maple Valley storage unit, and four vehicles on Oct. 26, 2023, and confiscated 23 more firearms, four silencers, two ballistic vests, and 2,300 rounds of ammunition, and a “large amount” of pills, according to official documents.

Heinzinger and Lewis were away at the time, but were arrested outside their apartment on Jan. 25, 2024.

Heinzinger pleaded guilty on Jan. 17 to possessing illegal weapons, but the drug charges were dropped.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 17.

According to the Department of Justice, the firearm charges are punishable by up to ten years incarceration.

The case against Lewis has been dismissed, as she died earlier this year.