Average New Yorkers are now peddling illegal ghost guns as a lucrative side hustle, the Queens district attorney says.
“We are seeing individuals with no criminal history assembling and selling ghost guns to supplement their legal income,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said. “It is a deeply troubling trend that threatens to make an already pervasive gun violence problem much worse.”
Among this unlikely pool of firearms dealers is Javon Fournillier, a 27-year-old Queens man with no criminal background, who allegedly sold seven ghost guns to people in New York City and Trinidad, according to court records.
To circumvent New York’s ban on the untraceable ghost guns — which don’t have serial numbers and can be made with a 3-D printer or assembled piecemeal with shipped parts — Fournillier allegedly purchased components and ammunition from online sellers, and had them shipped to his pal Andrew Wilson, 27, in Conroe, Texas, according to the DA’s office.
Wilson mailed the parts and ammo to New York, where Fournillier assembled and sold the weapons from January to July 2022, raking in between $1,000 and $1,800 via word of mouth, according to the DA’s office and court records.
Fournillier and Wilson were indicted last month on more than 600 felony counts, including fourth-degree conspiracy and third-degree criminal possession, with seven counts of attempted criminal sale for Fournillier.
If convicted, Fournillier could face up to 22 years in prison, while Wilson could receive up to seven, the DA’s office said.
Their indictments come as Bayside pharmacist Andrew Chang, 35, pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, following a ghost gun bust last year in which he had also been charged with criminal sale of a firearm.
Chang’s defense lawyer, David Cohen, denied his client was involved in any ghost gun sales, claiming he had only purchased the gun parts and assembled them without knowing it was illegal.
Actress Julia Fox’s 30-year-old brother, Christopher, has also allegedly been wrapped up in the ghost gun trade. Police raided the tony Upper East Side apartment the “Uncut Gems” star’s sibling shared with their father earlier this month, where they reportedly found a ghost-gun manufacturing operation.
Fox had fabricated enough parts that it was clear he was selling ghost guns, prosecutors contended, noting the roughly $345,000 that flowed through his Cash app between April 2020 and January 2023.
This disturbing black market trend comes amid a state and city crackdown on these firearms that have flooded the streets — and wound up in the hands of killers.
As of Feb. 8, the NYPD has confiscated 36 ghost guns this year, according to city data. A staggering 463 ghost guns were recovered by police in 2022, compared to just 17 in 2018.
For some, the potential financial windfall from selling these weapons is worth the risk of prison, experts said.
“Whatever slap on the hand he is gonna get, it’s not gonna undermine all the efforts and all the money he’s made thus far,” retired NYPD detective Rodrigo Caballero said about Fournillier’s alleged arms dealing.
The list of civilians-turned-criminals could grow, warned retired NYPD sergeant and John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor Joseph Giacalone.
“Ghost guns have been on everybody’s radar now for over a year or so, and it’s only going to get worse as the technology becomes cheaper,” he said. “If ordinary people are doing this just to make money, then there you go.”
Additional reporting by Jacob Geanous
