Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the sentencing of JERU MCCRAY, 43, to 5 years in state prison for manufacturing and possessing a ghost gun and possessing high-capacity magazines and ammunition in his Upper West Side apartment. On November 18, 2022, MCCRAY pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree.

“Jeru McCray went to great lengths to assemble ghost guns and purchase a stockpile of ammunition, which were stored in an Upper West Side apartment with a young child,” said District Attorney Bragg. “We will continue to take an aggressive, multi-faceted approach to getting both ghost guns and traditional firearms out of our communities, and thanks to our dedicated Ghost Guns Initiative prosecutor we are continuing to make progress.”

According to MCCRAY’s purchase history, financial records and internet search history, and as admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, for about two years since November 2019, MCCRAY purchased a large volume of ghost gun parts and firearms components that were shipped to his Upper West Side home. In addition, MCCRAY ordered numerous ghost gun parts and firearms components, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition, including hollow-point bullets, and had these items shipped to an address in Pennsylvania, because under the New York SAFE Act of 2013, these items could not be shipped to MCCRAY in New York. In total, MCCRAY ordered enough ghost gun parts and firearms components to assemble at least four handguns and one AR-15 style rifle. MCCRAY’s prior felony conviction makes him ineligible to obtain a firearms license.

Pursuant to a search warrant executed at MCCRAY’S apartment, the NYPD recovered one fully assembled ghost gun, a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, and a loaded magazine. In addition, the NYPD recovered three high-capacity magazines, each with the capacity to hold 30 rounds; one AR-15 lower receiver; four different calibers of ammunition; and various tools commonly used to assemble ghost guns, including a construction jig. The room from which the unsecured gun was recovered was shared with by MCCRAY’s family member, a young child.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with the NYPD and other law enforcement partners, established the Ghost Guns Initiative in 2020 to address the proliferation of ghost guns in New York City. To date, the Ghost Guns Initiative has prosecuted cases involving the seizure of over 80 ghost gun parts, 42 fully assembled ghost guns, 24 serialized firearms, 421 high-capacity magazines, 45 silencers, and other gear including scopes and rapid-fire modification devices.
 
Assistant D.A. Bonnie Seok of the Rackets Bureau, overseeing the Ghost Guns Initiative, handled the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Mike Ohm (Rackets Bureau Deputy Chief), Judy Salwen (Rackets Bureau Principal Deputy Chief), and Jodie Kane (Rackets Bureau Chief), and Executive Assistant D.A.s Christopher Conroy (Senior Advisor to the Investigation Division) and Susan Hoffinger (Investigation Division Chief).
 
The following members of the D.A.’s Office also assisted with the case: former Assistant D.A. Eun-Ha Kim, Assistant D.A. Adam Maltz, Ryan Rittenberg (Counterterrorism Program Director), Trial Preparation Assistant Samantha Kritzer, and Senior Rackets Investigator Lou Capolupo.
 
D.A. Bragg thanked the following members of the NYPD’s Major Case Field Intelligence Team: Detective Michael Billotto, Detective Victor Cardona, Detective John Shultz, Detective Christopher Thomas, and Detective John Uske, under the supervision of Sergeant Bogdan Tabor, Captain Christian Jara, and Inspector Courtney Nilan.  D.A. Bragg also thanked Detective Matthew Demaio and Detective Mark Stevenson of the NYPD’s Firearms Suppression Division.

Defendant:
JERU MCCRAY
New York, New York

Convicted:

• Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a class C felony, one count

Sentenced:

• 5 years state prison, 3 years post-release supervision

###