Okmulgee Man Pleads Guilty to Machinegun Possession

Buddy Lynn Visser, 56, of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, stood before a federal magistrate last week and admitted to possessing a machinegun he never should have had — one that was never registered, never legal, and never meant for a convicted felon’s hands. Visser pleaded guilty to two federal counts: FELON IN POSSESSION OF FIREARM under Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2), and 924(e)(1), and POSSESSION OF UNREGISTERED FIREARM (MACHINEGUN), in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 5861(d), 5841, and 5871.

The charges stem from two separate incidents within the Eastern District of Oklahoma. On or about July 10, 2016, Visser, already a convicted felon with a prior crime punishable by more than one year in prison, knowingly possessed a firearm that had traveled in interstate commerce — a federal offense carrying up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Then, just weeks later on August 17, 2016, he was found in possession of a weapon far more dangerous: a Seekins Precision, Model SP15, .223 caliber rifle modified into a machinegun, a device defined under federal law as a weapon capable of rapid, automatic fire.

That SP15 was not just illegal due to Visser’s status — it was never registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by federal law. Possession of such a weapon, especially by someone with a felony record, triggers severe penalties: up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led the investigation, tracking the weapon’s origin and confirming its unauthorized conversion to fully automatic fire.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven P. Shreder accepted Visser’s guilty plea in Muskogee federal court, ordering a presentence investigation report before sentencing. That report will determine not only the length of Visser’s sentence but whether he’ll serve the maximum 10-year term on each count — potentially consecutively. Until then, he remains locked up in the custody of the United States Marshals Service.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean Burris, who emphasized the high stakes of illegal machinegun possession. ‘This wasn’t a hunting rifle or a sidearm,’ Burris said in a statement. ‘This was a fully automatic weapon — the kind that turns neighborhoods into war zones. And it was in the hands of a man barred by law from owning any firearm.’

Visser’s guilty plea is the latest in a string of weapons prosecutions in eastern Oklahoma, where federal authorities have intensified crackdowns on illegal firearms trafficking and possession. With sentencing pending, one thing is clear: when a felon arms himself with a machinegun, the federal system does not look kindly on second chances.