Photo: RCMP

Adrian Picketts-Yoxall (left) was charged in 2023 with offences alleging he was manufacturing 3D-printed ghost guns inside his Heffley Creek home. These photos, supplied by police, show the 3D printer Picketts-Yoxall is alleged to have used, as well as a 3D-printed ghost gun.

A Kamloops-area man will likely face a lengthy sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges alleging he used a 3D printer to manufacture an untraceable ghost gun.

Adrian Picketts-Yoxall, 32, pleaded guilty Monday in Kamloops provincial court to charges of trafficking a handgun and overcapacity magazine and possessing a firearm contrary to an order.

Court has previously heard he caught the attention of police late in 2021, after Canada Border Services Agency investigators flagged parcels from the U.S. bound for Picketts-Yoxall's home in Heffley Creek.

The packages are alleged to have contained firearms parts and a polymer firearm kit, an item that can be turned into a functional handgun with a 3D printer.

At a bail hearing last year, court heard police conducted a staged delivery of the package to Picketts-Yoxall’s home in January of 2022, after which time a search warrant was obtained and executed.

Picketts-Yoxall has been free on bail since January of 2024, but he is expected to return to prison following Monday’s plea, facing a proposed sentence of 3.5 years.

Sentencing won’t take place until summer. Court heard Monday that will give Picketts-Yoxall time to get his affairs in order.

Lawyers will return to court on April 24 to set a date for sentencing.