Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office Discovers Ghost Gun Operation

A 3D “ghost gun” printing operation was found in a residence near Turnpike Road in Goleta on Tuesday, September 9, according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office. Two brothers are alleged to be involved in the illegal gun manufacturing, with one man still on the loose as of Friday September 12.

Deputies were originally called to a residence on Winding Way a week earlier on September 1, following up on reports of an “assault in progress” in the Wescott family home. According to reports from the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office, a 73-year-old victim claimed he had been attacked by his son, Dean Wescott II. 

The victim — who had a visible cut on his face and was “having difficulty hearing after being struck multiple times in the ear” — told deputies that his son Dean threatened to shoot him and that he and his brother, Dylan Wescott, not only had access to weapons but had been “manufacturing untraceable 3D-printed ghost guns,’” according to the Sheriff’s report.

The Sheriff’s Office said that both Wescott brothers were known to authorities from prior contacts, and both were convicted felons who were legally prohibited from possessing any firearms. 

As authorities searched for the two men, the deputies on the street witnessed a “speeding vehicle” strike a man walking in a crosswalk before fleeing the scene. The driver, who was not involved in the original incident, was later arrested and charged with DUI and felony hit-and-run. 

The man who was hit by the speeding vehicle, however, was identified as Dean Wescott II, one of the two brothers alleged to have been involved in the ghost gun operation. As he was being taken to the hospital with a fractured leg and head injuries, deputies inside the Wescott residence found at least five un-serialized 3D-printed handguns, multiple magazines, and a “carbine conversion kit” which adds a shoulder stock to the plastic pistols.

After the initial report was filed with the District Attorney’s Office, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies returned on September 9 with a search warrant to further investigate the alleged ghost gun operation with the help of a canine unit.

While serving the warrant, deputies found seven 3D printers, 15 spools of plastic filament, a printed plastic pistol, multiple “Glock-style” frames, eight more magazines, and all sorts of related tools parts, barrels, trigger mechanisms, magazine springs, and computer programs used to print the illegal guns.

“Thanks to some exceptional patrol work and follow-up investigation on the part of Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office deputies, a dangerous assembly operation for untraceable firearms, operated by persons who are legally prohibited from being armed, was thwarted,” said Sheriff Bill Brown. “Those responsible were arrested or identified, and charges will be sought against them. Our community is a safer place as a result of the deputies’ actions.”

Deputies have forwarded charges against Dean Wescott II to the District Attorney’s Office. He is facing charges of assault, threats, and illegal firearms, and is no longer in custody, according to jail records. His brother, Dylan Wescott, remains at large with an arrest warrant for charges including manufacturing and possessing un-serialized firearms without a license using 3D printers, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and manufacturing undetectable firearms.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking anybody with information regarding Dylan Wescott to contact dispatch at (805) 683-2724.