Lincoln Man Sentenced in Firearms Case

United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Spenser Ware, 35, formerly of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 14, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln for possession of firearms and ammunition by a prohibited person. Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Ware to 42 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Ware’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release.

In October of 2023, investigators received information that Ware was building firearms and selling them to individuals who could not legally purchase them.  Ware owned his own security company at the time. Investigators executed a search warrant at Ware’s residence where they found five firearms, several of which were non-serialized “ghost guns” with short barrels. Investigators also found 12 receivers, high-capacity magazines, body armor, more than 1800 rounds of ammunition in different calibers, holsters, firearm assembly equipment, and magazines. Ware admitted that he ordered the gun parts and assembled the firearms himself. Investigators searched his phone and found multiple images of firearms dating back to 2021. An agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives examined the firearms and ammunition and found that they were manufactured outside the State of Nebraska.

Ware has felony convictions out of Florida preventing him from possessing firearms.

This case was investigated by the Lincoln Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.