NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – An East Village man pled guilty on a series of weapons charges Thursday after being arrested in January for running a sophisticated ghost gun factory out of his apartment, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said.
Cliffie Thompson, 36, was charged with six counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of criminal sale of a firearm, among other related charges.
Thompson will be sentenced to five years in state prison and a subsequent three years of post-release supervision under the terms of his plea, and he is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 8, authorities said.
“Today Cliffie Thompson was held accountable for contributing to the proliferation of ghost guns in Manhattan and New York City as a whole by operating an illegal ghost gun factory in his apartment,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“The easy assembly of ghost guns means bad actors are able to evade New York’s strict gun laws in their own homes. As we work with our law enforcement partners to remain vigilant on enforcement, we renew our call to the New York legislature to make the manufacturing of 3D-printed guns and gun parts illegal. It’s time to close these loopholes and strengthen penalties,” Bragg added.
Thompson was first arrested for assaulting his girlfriend on Jan. 15, and as admitted in his plea, he contacted a woman at his apartment to have her remove equipment both before and after his arrest, officials said.
A search warrant on Jan. 16 led officers to recover five firearms and ammunition from Thompson’s apartment and discover a sophisticated ghost gun manufacturing setup that included multiple 3D printers, printed gun parts in different stages of completion and other manufacturing tools.
Police also found 36 blank forged credit cards containing other people’s personal information.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, NYPD and state and federal law enforcement created the Ghost Guns Initiative in 2020 and have since prosecuted cases that involved the seizure of over 104 ghost guns and hundreds of pieces of weapons gear.