D.A. Bragg Announces 5 Year Prison Sentence for Ghost Gun Manufacturer


May 24, 2022

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the sentencing of FRANCISCO MARTINEZ, 39, for manufacturing eight operable, untraceable “ghost guns” in his Hamilton Heights apartment using component parts ordered online. MARTINEZ pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree on April 20, 2022. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

“Nobody in Manhattan should have to worry about deadly, untraceable weapons being manufactured in a neighbors apartment, and we will continue to prosecute those who illegally assemble and use ghost guns in our city. I know the trauma of gun violence firsthand – no more New Yorkers should have to experience it,” said District Attorney Bragg.

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, on June 26, 2021, at approximately 9:45 p.m., MARTINEZ fired several shots from what were later determined to be “ghost guns” from the roof of his apartment building on West 153rd Street. NYPD officers responding to a ShotSpotter activation discovered ten nine-millimeter cartridge casings on the roof of the building, and identified MARTINEZ as a suspect after viewing video surveillance that showed him climbing the stairs to his roof with at least one visible gun. MARTINEZ was apprehended exiting his apartment the next morning.

That evening, NYPD officers executed a search warrant at the defendants’ apartment and recovered eight semiautomatic pistols – none of which were marked with a serial number – as well as two imitation pistols, and more than two hundred rounds of assorted ammunition. Investigators determined that the firearms were all operable weapons that were assembled from component metal and polymer parts that were ordered online from eBay and companies from California and several other states. Multiple build kits and gun manufacturing parts, including firearm magazines, frames, receivers, and other components, were also recovered from the apartment. A microscopic analysis of the cartridge casings recovered from the roof later determined that the ten cartridge casings were a ballistics match to three of the firearms from the apartment.

Assistant D.A. Kyle Mirabelli is handling the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Jung Park and Assistant D.A. Christopher Prevost (Chief of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Unit), under the supervision of Executive D.A. Joyce Smith (head of the Trial Division). Trial Preparation Assistant Casey Hunter also assisted with the prosecution. Assistant D.A. Eun-HaKim of the Rackets Bureau also assisted with the investigation. D.A. Bragg thanked former Assistant D.A. Matthew Thiman, NYPD Detective Adam Kreitzberg and Officers Joseph Duernberger, and Briant Tineo of the 30th Precinct, Officers Vianca Connor and James Kane of the Evidence Collection Team and Detective Mia Farina of the Police Lab.

Defendant Information:
FRANCISCO MARTINEZ
New York, NY

Convicted:

  • Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class D felony, two counts

Sentenced:

  • 5 years in prison
  • 5 years’ post-release supervision

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