Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. today announced the guilty plea of ELEAZER EDELSTEIN, 21, for possessing operable ghost guns that he manufactured in his Washington Heights apartment. Additionally, EDELSTEIN threatened to kill his former girlfriend, at one point displaying one of the ghost guns he manufactured during a Facetime call with her.
EDELSTEIN pleaded guilty to two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and one count of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree in New York State Supreme Court. Under the terms of the plea, EDELSTEIN will be sentenced to 4.5 years in state prison followed by 5 years of post-release supervision, a full and final order of protection, and a waiver of right to appeal. He is expected to be sentenced on January 17, 2024.
“Today Eleazer Edelstein was held accountable for manufacturing ghost guns in his Washington Heights apartment, threatening the safety of New Yorkers in addition to directly threatening the life of his former girlfriend. Ghost guns are a dangerous loophole in our laws, making it possible for people to create deadly firearms from the comfort of their homes,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Today’s guilty plea further indicates the need for the New York legislature to make the manufacturing of 3D-printed guns and gun parts illegal.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record, and as admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, from January 2021 to December 2022, EDELSTEIN purchased at least 16 items to construct, assemble and print ghost guns, including two 3D printers and multiple spools of filament. EDELSTEIN used those items to build at least two operable ghost gun pistols.
EDELSTEIN’s electronic devices contained multiple “CAD files,” or digital blueprints, to utilize the 3D printers found in his apartment. Some of the files contained specific codes for 3D printing firearms and other parts, such as magazines.
Between May 28 and May 30 2023, EDELSTEIN sent a series of text messages to a former girlfriend threatening to kill her. At one point, he called her over Facetime and displayed one of the weapons he had printed.
A court-authorized search warrant was executed by the NYPD on EDELSTEIN’s apartment on June 2 2023, where they recovered the weapons and parts. EDELSTEIN was arrested during the execution of the search warrant.
Assistant D.A.s James O’Donohue and John Logan of Trial Bureau 30 handled the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Phil Gary and Elizabeth Clerkin (TB 30 Deputy Chiefs), Erin Tierney (TB 30 Chief), and Executive Assistant D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Trial Division Chief).
Assistant D.A. Bonnie Seok of the Rackets Bureau, overseeing the Ghost Guns Initiative, assisted with the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s David Stuart (Counter Terrorism Unit Chief), Mike Ohm (Rackets Bureau Deputy Chief), Judy Salwen (Rackets Bureau Principal Deputy Chief), and Jodie Kane (Rackets Bureau Chief and Acting Chief of the Investigation Division).
D.A. Bragg thanked Officers Glickman and Corbin, Detectives John Ramalho, Christopher Dalessandro, and Steven Humburg, and Sergeant Christopher Kearney of the NYPD’s 101st Precinct. D.A. Bragg also thanked the following members of the NYPD’s Major Case Field Intelligence Team: Detectives John Shultz, Michael Billotto, John Uske, Christopher Thomas, Christopher Dalessandro, Victor Cardona, Steve Humburg and Sergeant Christopher Kearney, under the supervision of Sergeant Bogdan Tabor, Captain Christian Jara, and Inspector Courtney Nilan.
Defendant Information:
ELEAZER EDELSTEIN
New York, New York
Convicted:
- Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, two counts
- Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor, one count
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