Jamaican man condemned to 18 months in US penitentiary in ghost gun scheme

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A 30-year-old Jamaican man, Audley Reeves, was on Thursday sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in the United States where he was convicted of fabricating “ghost guns”.

This is according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.

Reeves will likely be deported to Jamaica after he completes his sentence.

According to court documents and statements, in late 2021, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force learned that John Lee Ortiz and others were selling ghost guns. 

These are homemade firearms that do not contain serial numbers or other identifying marks, thus preventing them from being traced to the owner, seller, or manufacturer of the weapon.

As part of building their case, investigators made controlled purchases of seven handguns, a Bushmaster .223 caliber rifle, and numerous rounds of ammunition from Ortiz in December 2021.

“Most of the handguns had no serial numbers and had plastic lower receivers that appeared to be made with a 3D printer. 

Reeves was identified during the investigation as the fabricator of the ghost guns,” the US Attorney’s Office said.

It shared that Reeves and Ortiz were arrested on January 5, 2022. On that date, a court-authorized search of an apartment on Church Street in East Hartford revealed six fully assembled firearms, approximately 25 partially assembled firearms, three high-capacity magazines, various firearm parts, and tools used to construct firearms.

Reeves was reportedly present in the apartment at the time of the search, and a 3D printer in the apartment was in the process of printing stock of an AR-15-style rifle.

In audio and video recordings made during the controlled purchases, Ortiz boasted that he had the connections to get the guns sold while his “Jamaican boy” was the “brains of the operation”.

He also acknowledged that Reeves wanted out and even relocated to Massachusetts. 

However, Ortiz convinced him to return to the ghost gun business.  

On August 24, 2022, Reeves pleaded guilty to engaging in the business of manufacturing firearms without a license. 

He has been released on a US $50,000 bond and is required to report to prison on January 6.

On November 8, Ortiz pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 3.