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Michael Emry was sentenced Wednesday to 21/2 years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing a fully automatic .50-caliber machine gun that he brought to Oregon in a van loaned to him by Ammon Bundy, one of the leaders in the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Emry, 55, of John Day admitted that he stole the machine gun from a man in Idaho, obliterated its serial number and traveled with it from Idaho to Oregon in December 2015 in Bundy's van. He, Bundy, Ryan Payne and others stayed in a house in Burns at that time, according to the prosecutor.

"I would like you to know how sorry I am this happened and hope you give me a chance to go to work,'' Emry wrote to U.S. District Judge Ann L. Aiken in a two-page letter.

He said he wants to work as an auto mechanic, rebuilding motor homes. "All I have is my heart and my word that this man will never break the rules ever again," he said.

On Jan. 11, 2016, Emry told a Deschutes County sheriff's deputy at a law enforcement checkpoint at the Burns airport that a .50-caliber belt-fed machine gun was on the refuge, according to a court filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Lichvarcik.

The deputy perceived Emry's statement as an attempt to intimidate law enforcement during the occupation of the eastern Oregon refuge.

A confidential source told the FBI that it was a good thing law enforcement seized the machine gun from Emry because Oregon standoff defendant Darryl Thorn had wanted another refuge occupier to retrieve the machine gun from Emry and had asked for training on how to use it, the federal prosecutor wrote. Thorn was subsequently convicted of federal conspiracy and other misdemeanor charges in the refuge takeover.

Before FBI agents executed the search warrant on his trailer in John Day on May 6, 2016, Emry had been negotiating to sell the Browning M2 machine gun in Oregon to an undercover law enforcement officer who posed as a convicted felon and captain of a Texas militia group, Lichvarcik wrote in the court filing.

Emry told agents that the gun was fully automatic and could fire between 550 and 650 rounds per minute, according to federal prosecutors.

Emry's defense lawyer noted that Emry is the primary income earner for himself and his longtime girlfriend, who is disabled. Emry, skilled as a mechanic, electrician and machinist, adopted "a more academic than utilitarian interest in guns'' and was one described by a former federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent as "the Picasso of machine guns,'' wrote Lynn Shepard, Emry's defense lawyer, in his sentencing memo.

According to his lawyer, Emry went to the refuge as a journalist to cover the occupation and report any problems that arose on both sides of the conflict.

"He wound up possessing the firearm as a way to make money and establish the trust of the cooperating witness in the case,'' Shepard wrote. It required special ammunition that Emry didn't possess, Shepard noted.

"Despite his talents, he intends to have nothing further to do with journalism, firearms or the firearms trade,'' Shepard wrote. "He does not want to be involved in anything like this again.''

Emry was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Eugene.

A conviction for possession of a machine gun brings a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The sentence imposed resulted from a plea deal.

"I applaud federal and state law enforcement officers for their swift and decisive action in removing a very dangerous weapon from the community,'' said Billy J. Williams, Oregon's U.S. attorney. "Transporting stolen weapons is a serious crime and will be met with equally serious consequences."

The case was investigated by the FBI, the ATF and Oregon State Police.

Bundy was acquitted of federal conspiracy and weapons charges after a five-week trial in Portland last fall. Payne, who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge, awaits sentencing. Emry was never charged with conspiracy stemming from the refuge occupation.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian