RPD: Man arrested after officers confiscated his ghost gun

By News10NBC

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester police said a man faces charges after they confiscated his ghost gun, a self-assembled firearm that often doesn’t have a serial number.

RPD officers said they stopped a car on Ernst Street just on Thursday before midnight for traffic violations and found a ghost gun loaded with 5 rounds.

The driver of that car, 33-year-old Juan Garcia, was taken into custody. He is charged with criminal possession of a weapon plus traffic violations.

Ghost guns have flooded the streets of Rochester, reported a News10NBC investigation. When the Rochester Police Department first started keeping statistics on ghost guns in 2020, it recovered 16 of them that year. That number jumped to 45 in 2021.

According to a study, in the last three years, there has been a 479% increase in ghost gun seizures across New York State.

New York State law prohibits the possession of unfinished gun frames or receivers unless by a licensed gunsmith. In April, the Biden Administration announced regulations requiring gun assembly kit manufacturers to include serial numbers for the parts and for the buyers to go through background checks before purchasing.