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John Lee Ortiz, age 28, and Audley Reeves, age 30, both of East Hartford, were charged on Wednesday, Jan. 5, said Leonard C Boyle, US Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, in late 2021, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force learned that Ortiz and others were selling “ghost guns,” which are homemade firearms that do not contain serial numbers and can't be traced.
In December 2021, investigators made controlled purchases of seven handguns, a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle, and numerous rounds of ammunition from Ortiz. Most of the handguns had no serial numbers and had plastic lower receivers that appeared to be made with a 3D printer, court documents said.
Reeves was identified during the investigation as the fabricator of the ghost guns, the US Attorney's Office said.
On the day the men were arrested, a court-authorized search of an apartment in East Hartford revealed six fully assembled firearms, approximately 12 partially assembled firearms, three high-capacity magazines, various firearm parts, and tools used to construct firearms, court documents said.
Reeves was present in the apartment at the time of the search, and a 3D printer in the apartment was in the process of printing the stock of an AR-15 style rifle, officials said.
Ortiz and Reeves are each charged with engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, an offense that carries a maximum term of five years in prison.
Ortiz is also charged with selling firearms to a prohibited person, an offense that carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison.
Ortiz and Reeves are currently detained.
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