On Tuesday, November 13, Maximilien Reynolds, 21, of Rumson, New Jersey, pled guilty to one count of causing false statements to be made in connection with the acquisition of a firearm, and one count of possessing unregistered firearms including a semi-automatic rifle, a homemade silencer, and a homemade bomb, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Reynolds will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy on March 11, 2019.
Reynolds currently resides in Ithaca, New York. He is a part-time student at Tompkins-Cortland Community College on a leave of absence from Cornell University.
The illegal gun purchase
According to the press release and other court records, Reynolds paid a student $200 to buy the rifle for him in November 2017. At the time, he told the student that he was prohibited from purchasing the firearm himself. The reason for the prohibition hasn’t been revealed, but Reynolds was detained under Section 941 of the New York State Mental Hygiene Law in June 2016, and federal law prohibits anyone who has ever been committed to a mental institution or deemed to be a danger to himself or others from purchasing or receiving a firearm.
The press release states that Reynolds also possessed a semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number that was recovered from a canal near Cayuga Lake. He had a view of the lake from his apartment.
The suspicious purchase at Walmart
Reynolds came to the attention of authorities in March when an employee of the local Walmart store contacted the police after Reynolds used a gift card to buy a quantity of ammunition, knives, drill bits, hacksaw blades, miscellaneous tools, camping gear, and other items.
The apartment search
When law enforcement officers searched Reynolds’ apartment, they found hundreds of rounds of live ammunition, high-capacity magazine clips, assorted bomb-making materials, two sets of ballistic body armor, military-style clothing, knives, and a gas mask in addition to the rifle, silencer, and bomb.
Read an earlier post about the case here.