A Langley dad once dubbed the 'Dr. Frankenstein' of weapons pleaded guilty to dozens of weapons-related charges during in Supreme Court on Monday.
Bradley Michael Friesen's trial began in New Westminster on Sept. 28, where he was facing 47 firearm and gun trafficking related charges.
His lawyer then indicated that the alleged gun maker would be entering a guilty plea. Friesen, 38, appeared next on Oct. 5. A pre-sentence report has been ordered for later date.
He has been in custody since his arrest last year.
On the morning of July 17, 2014, Friesen was arrested while he was with his five-year-old son at a campground in Osoyoos.
Numerous firearms and illegal firearms-related devices were seized from Friesen’s van at the campground. Many of the weapons found in the van were stashed underneath a booster seat in which Friesen’s young son was seated, police alleged at a press conference called shortly after his arrest.
Officers from the Tucson, Ariz. office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives called RCMP to tell them they had been investigating Friesen for selling Glock switches, silencers and gun parts via the internet.
A joint Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. (CFSEU-BC) and U.S. investigation began, resulting in investigators conducting surveillance of Friesen.
“It did not take long before he was observed mailing packages of parts and silencers to addresses in Canada, the U.S., and Australia,” said CFSEU-BC’s Sgt. Linsday Houghton at the press conference at RCMP headquarters.
Police also observed the man visiting a Walnut Grove home on 95A Avenue, which officers suspected of being a workshop for making silencers and gun parts.
Investigators obtained search warrants for his residence in the 21000-block of 95A Avenue, his pickup truck, his workshop on another property on 95A and his van and tent at the campground. Friesen rented two properties on 95A Avenue.
It's unclear if the U.S. plans to try him as well. Last year, a prosecutor started the process to send him south, but since then, Friesen's trial date was set in Canada.