Thirty-year-old Jamaican Audley Reeves was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in the United States on Thursday after being convicted of making ghost guns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
The Jamaican is likely to be deported after completing his sentence.
According to court documents and statements, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force found that John Lee Ortiz and others were selling ghost weapons in late 2021.
It is said these handcrafted firearms lack serial numbers or other identifying markers, which prevent them from being tracked back to the owner, supplier, or manufacturer of the weapon.
Investigators made controlled purchases of seven handguns, a Bushmaster 223 caliber rifle, and numerous rounds of ammunition from Ortiz in December 2021, as part of their investigation into the case.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, Reeves was identified during the investigation as the fabricator of the ghost guns and he as well as Ortiz were arrested January 5, 2022.
A search of an apartment on Church Street in East Hartford which was authorized by the court revealed six fully assembled firearms, approximately 25 partially assembled firearms, three high-capacity magazines, various firearm parts, and tools used to construct firearms.
Reeves pleaded guilty to operating in the business of producing weapons without a license on August 24, 2022.
He was released on a $50,000 bond and is expected to report to prison on January 6.
Ortiz pleaded guilty on November 8 to one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license and one count of possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute.
He is set to be sentenced February 3.
