Owen Stish (Cass County Jail photo)
FARGO (KFGO) — A Minot man is facing federal charges after he open-carried an unregistered short-barreled rifle at the Downtown Fargo Street Fair.
Charging documents say Fargo Police contacted Owen Stish, 27, on July 16 while he was carrying an AR-style rifle. Officers told him to put the gun away, and Stish complied. The gun was not loaded, but officers saw a magazine in Stish’s pocket.
Earlier that day, someone had called 911 on Stish. The caller reported an uncased rifle on the passenger seat of a vehicle in the parking lot of a gun range. Employees there did not report any problems with Stish.
Fargo Police contacted the ATF, and the federal agency began investigating. An ATF special agent found a 2018 court order from a Ward County judge that deemed Stish unable to care for himself. As part of the court ruling, Stish was prohibited from owning firearms.
The next day, July 17, a Fargo officer saw Stish at the street fair again, this time without the gun. The officer talked to Stish, who said the weapon was in storage in Dilworth. The criminal complaint says Stish showed the officer two 30-round magazines he had with.
Fargo Police contacted the ATF, and were told to arrest Stish for illegal possession of a firearm.
An ATF agent interviewed Stish after he was arrested. Stish told the agent he traded a car for the gun. Stish said he used Facebook Marketplace to facilitate the deal. The agent searched his phone, and found the messages between Stish and the person that traded him the gun. The ATF also searched his storage unit and seized the firearm. The gun was not registered, which is a federal requirement for firearms with a barrel less than 16 inches long. The seized gun had a barrel that measured 11 inches long.
In the criminal complaint, the ATF says Stish never intended to hurt anyone.
Stish is charged with possession of an unregistered firearm. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
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