Winnipeg police have released more information about an investigation that led to a man already serving time for making 3D guns pleading guilty to doing the same thing behind bars.
Blake Ellison-Crate, 26, was sentenced July 16 to one count each of manufacturing firearms and trafficking in firearms and was sentenced to 10 years. He was already serving a 12-year sentence for trafficking firearms assembled with a 3D printer.
The Winnipeg Police Service held a news conference Tuesday regarding Project Gauge, which led to the arrest of Ellison-Crate, his mother and several other people.
3D-printed Glock-style pistol lower receivers, which police allege were assembled into functioning guns, seized in 2023. (Erik Pindera / Free Press files)
The investigation began in November. Police executed search warrants at four homes in the 200 block of Dumoulin Street, the 300 block of Parkview Street, the 100 block of Prevette Street and the 600 block of Setter Street on March 20. Ellison-Crate was arrested in prison on April 19.
Police said Tuesday that as part of Project Gauge, officers seized a 3D-printed Glock-style handgun, 9mm ammunition, a 3D printer and other weapons and knives. The 3D-printed gun and the 3D printer were found in the Setter Street home. The home is connected to one of the people facing charges, 26-year-old Michael Rivers, 26.
Although police seized only one 3D-printed gun, Insp. Elton Hall of the WPS organized crime division said investigators believe 30 to 40 of the guns made by the criminal ring are on the streets.
Court heard earlier this month that Ellison-Crate recruited his mother, Twyla Ellison, and his stepfather to deposit thousands of dollars into a bank account he could access, which he immediately spent on gun components.
Twyla Ellison was arrested May 8 and is facing weapons charges. Kinew Daniels, 25 and an unnamed 46-year-old man are also facing weapons offences.
Danielle Deleau, 25, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence, while Ashlen Parris, 25, is charged with two counts of the same offence. Parris was arrested at Headingley Correctional Institution on May 14.
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