East Village resident pleads guilty to running a 'sophisticated ghost gun factory'

An East Village resident pleaded guilty on Tuesday "for running a sophisticated ghost gun factory" in his apartment and possessing firearms, ammunition, 3-D printers, and ghost gun parts, according to D.A. Bragg's office.

Cliffie Thompson, 36, pleaded guilty to six counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, among other charges. 

Per the D.A.'s office, under the terms of the plea, Thompson will be sentenced to five years in state prison followed by three years of post-release supervision. He is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 8. 

Thompson was arrested this past Jan. 15 for assaulting his girlfriend. According to his plea, "he contacted and directed a woman at his apartment to remove equipment from his home." (He reportedly lived with his mother in the Lillian Wald Houses on Avenue D.) 

During a search of the apartment the following day, officers recovered five firearms and various types of ammunition, as well as a setup to manufacture ghost gun parts from scratch, including two 3-D printers. Police also found 36 blank forged credit cards containing other people's personal information.

As Gothamist noted, several lawmakers have proposed measures that would make it illegal to make a firearm with a 3-D printer or share instructions explaining how to do so.