The Manhattan and Brooklyn district attorneys said that they, along with the NYPD, have taken down a ghost gun arsenal worth $20,000, and the man who allegedly created it.
The law enforcement officials said Wednesday that 25-year-old Rene Loyola illegally purchased the cache of ghost gun parts — including more than 30 frames and receivers, nearly 300 high-capacity magazines and other related gear — from a dozen online retailers from March 2020 until March 2022.
Loyola allegedly collected all the parts and gear, particularly the high-capacity magazines, by having them shipped to a Pennsylvania address in order to circumvent New York's gun laws, which prohibit such items. The magazines recovered could collectively hold more than 8,600 bullets, according to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
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On one occasion, Loyola traveled to shipment location the same day the items were set to be delivered, prosecutors said. On April 20, the NYPD searched Loyola's Brooklyn home and a storage facility in Manhattan, where they uncovered the weapons and gear, along with rapid-fire modifications and other power tools.
"It is far too easy for anyone to buy the components needed to assemble a ghost gun. In just a few clicks, gun frames, receivers and high-capacity magazines can be delivered through the mail," Bragg said. "While changing technology has enabled the rise of ghost guns, this case also illustrates how the iron pipeline contributes to the gun violence epidemic – New York’s strict laws initially kept these magazines out of our state, but Rene Loyola eventually took advantage of lax regulations elsewhere."
Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said that "recovering these receivers, frames and magazines is important as we continue to fight to curtail the gun violence plaguing our city."
Loyola appeared in court in lower Manhattan on Wednesday, where he faced hundreds of charges, most of which involve weapon possession. On May 6, he was indicted by a Manhattan jury for 235 counts of weapon possession, and six days later, was indited in Brooklyn for additional similar counts.
Prosecutors said that the arrest will prevent hundreds of illegal guns from getting into the hands of criminals in the city.
