Ghost gun maker sentenced to 1 year in prison

Jennifer Lewke

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — A 20-year old Rochester man will spend the next year in federal prison for making and selling illegal ghost guns.

Ghost guns are built with parts and pieces normally ordered off the internet, that have no serial numbers meaning there’s no way to trace their use, which makes them appealing to people who otherwise can’t legally purchase a gun.

Nijesh Gurung, 20, of Rochester was sentenced this week in federal court to one year behind bars for manufacturing and dealing firearms without being licensed and approved to do so.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents got a tip from the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office that led them to Gurung. Federal prosecutors say an undercover officer bought five separate ghost guns from him over the course of two months, paying between $1,100 and $1,600 per gun.

They then executed a search warrant at his home along Tacoma Street in Rochester.

[News10NBC]

“They found some more evidence that was indicative of producing these ghost guns… they don’t have serial numbers on them so ATF is not able to trace them but obviously we’ve had an uptick in violence in our community so they are concerned,” said Assistant US Attorney Cassie Kocher.

Rochester Police recovered 45 ghost guns in 2021 and are well on their way to beating that number already in 2022.

To watch a recent News10NBC Investigation on the rise of ghost guns in our community, click here.