DV Journal

Delaware County Council is poised to pass a gun control bill that mirrors a similar ordinance adopted by Philadelphia and has landed the City of Brotherly Love in court.

The council recently had its first reading of the ordinance after a presentation by the gun control group CeaseFirePA. That proposal would outlaw “ghost gun” parts and also parts that can convert a semiautomatic weapon into a machine gun.

In February, the Commonwealth Court ruled 4-3 that Philadelphia’s ordinance is permissible under state law, although Pennsylvania law gives the state legislature the power to regulate firearms, not municipalities.

That appellate court held that because these are gun parts, not complete guns, local governments can have a say.

The case is pending before the state Supreme Court.

Lawyer Josh Prince, who represents the gun owners, told DV Journal, “As held by the legion of precedent from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Commonwealth Court, the regulation, in any manner, of firearms or ammunition is preempted by the express preemption of (the law) and the field preemption of the Uniform Firearms Act. If one reviews the caselaw, you will quickly see that I am the attorney on the supermajority of cases involving this issue and that I have yet to lose a case that I’ve argued before the appellate courts.

Prince added, “Philadelphia, at the request of CeaseFirePA, enacted a similar provision, which Gun Owners of America challenged. Unfortunately and contrary to the binding precedent, both the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas and Commonwealth Court, ruled against GOA. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear it and I will be filing an Amici Curiae brief in support of several organizations devoted to the protection of the Second Amendment and Article I, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.”

Prince, a Republican, is running for a seat on the Commonwealth Court.

Adam Garber, executive director of CeasefirePA, gave a presentation on the proposed ordinance to the council, with numerous orange-shirted members of his group looking on. In addition to Philadelphia, the ordinance was passed by Harrisburg, York and Reading, he said.

Jim Stoker, president of Firearm Owners Against Crime Institute for Legal. Legislative and Educational Action, said while he believes the proposed Delaware County ordinance is illegal, his group is waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on the Philadelphia ordinance before it considers bringing suit against any of the other municipalities that have passed similar ordinances. They will be filing a friend of the court brief in the case.

“Despite preemption, this ordinance is legal,” insisted Garber.

He noted kits are now available for people to easily assemble untraceable guns in their homes or print them using 3D printers. And “the AFT (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) found these guns, which are untraceable because of lacking a serial number had soared 44 percent in ’22 and ’23, in just two years, more than the past five previous years,” said Garber. “That’s a huge increase.”

“People who legally can’t get firearms want these because they know they can’t buy them through legal means,” Garber said.  “The ordinance would make it illegal to create these firearms parts and prohibit the sale…without a serial number. That will help local law enforcement take action to keep our community safe.”

The ordinance also prohibits owning machine gun converters “which multiply destruction.” These converters allow guns to fire up to 800 bullets a minute, he said.

“We’ve seen them here in Delaware County,” Garber claimed. “They’ve been proliferating and their only purpose is to cause more carnage,” said Garber.

He added, “1,800 Pennsylvanians lost their lives last year due to gun violence.”

Council Member Elaine Paul Schaefer said, “This is an issue that’s very important to me personally. We are facing a true epidemic of gun violence at a local level.”

As elected officials, “our role is to keep our residents safe,” she said.

“There is no place in a lawful society for firearms that are untraceable,” said Schaefer. “Nothing in this ordinance limits the freedom of law-abiding citizens…You cannot live freely if you are living in fear.”

Other council members echoed her remarks.

Councilor Christine Reuther said, “It’s important to look at the data.” Guns “don’t recognize municipal borders…Our rules and ordinances need to keep pace with technology. We need to take bold, necessary steps…While we can’t regulate firearms, we have every reason to believe we can regulate firearm parts.”

Stoker said the Philadelphia ordinance is “a clear violation of preemption,” which gives the state legislature control over firearms, not counties or municipalities.

“It’s illegal for them to pass these ordinances,” said Stoker. But politicians can and do pass ordinances they know won’t stand up in court, he said. “It’s easy to gamble with taxpayers’ money,” he said.

Delaware County Council is expected to pass its ban on untraceable firearm parts in April.

(From a press release)

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, Lower Merion Township Police Supt. Andrew Block, Upper Moreland Township Police Chief Scott Bendig and Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy announced the dismantling of a gun trafficking organization that was illegally selling factory-made firearms as well as manufacturing and selling 3D-printed “ghost guns,” suppressors (aka silencers) and machine gun conversion devices, commonly known as “switches.”

The gun trafficking organization was led by three men who are charged with murder in the home invasion homicide that occurred in Lower Merion Township on Dec. 8, 2024, They are Charles Fulforth, 41, of Jenkintown; Kelvin Roberts, 42, of Philadelphia; and Jeremy Fuentes, 26, of Philadelphia. Five members of their gun trafficking organization, who are all from Philadelphia, are also charged: Aaron Hiller, 24; Marcus Lee Jackson, 33; Jonathan Rodriguez, 26; Corry K. Simpson, 38; and Frances Staten, 38.

The investigation that uncovered the gun trafficking organization, led by Fulforth, Roberts and Fuentes, began after the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and the Lower Merion Township police recovered a 9mm 3D-printed ghost gun in Fulforth’s Jenkintown apartment. The investigation confirmed that the firearm was used to fatally shoot Andrew Gaudio during the home invasion.

Detectives subsequently began investigating how Fulforth came to be in possession of the firearm. Through a variety of investigative techniques, including serving search warrants on multiple locations and forensic searches of mobile phones, the investigation found that Fulforth manufactured the firearm in his firearm production facility. Detectives obtained a video showing a firearm that closely resembles the one utilized in the homicide, specifically the same make and model [Taurus style] being printed using one of the 3D printers found in Fulforth’s apartment.

An extensive investigation by Montgomery County Detectives and Lower Merion police, assisted by Upper Moreland Township police, Abington Township police, Cheltenham Township police,  the Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force and the Philadelphia police, uncovered the extensive nature of the gun manufacturing and trafficking organization led by Fulforth, Roberts and Fuentes.

This organization also involved Hiller, Jackson, Rodriguez, Simpson and Staten. The ghost gun used in the Lower Merion homicide is believed to be one of many manufactured by Fulforth. The investigation found that this organization frequently engaged in the unlawful transfer of factory-made firearms, but the organization also produced and sold a significant portion of the group’s inventory.

The investigation found that Fulforth had established a highly sophisticated, clandestine firearms production facility, where he engineered and assembled multiple types of personally manufactured firearms including AR-pistols—all of which did not include a serial number, making them difficult for law enforcement to trace.

In addition to these illegal firearms, Fulforth also was producing machine gun conversion devices—switches—using 3D printers that were sold pre-installed in the weapons he and his co-conspirators offered to their customers to generate even greater profit. From the review of the captured cellphone communications among the gun trafficking members, the investigation found that when switches were installed on AR pistols, it increased the price of the firearm by at least $1,000.

Furthermore, the defendants procured, made and sold firearm suppressors, also known as silencers, which were then attached to the modified weapons. The final produced weapon combined automatic firing capabilities with the sound dampening of suppressors to create an even greater risk to the community.

“By illegally selling factory-made firearms and manufacturing numerous types of firearms, silencers and machine gun conversion devices, this gun trafficking organization was arming criminals, and they were further equipping criminals by 3D-printing and installing switches on the firearms they sold, transforming them into fully automatic machine guns making them exponentially more deadly,” said Steele. “Added to that were their 3D-printed suppressors and firearms ‘lowers’ to which they purchased receivers and other necessary parts to manufacture ghost guns—untraceable firearms with no serial number. So now we have ‘silent machine guns’ in our communities, which provides an inordinate risk to community members and law enforcement officials across Montgomery County and the commonwealth. The danger of this type of gun trafficking organization is huge and simply unmeasurable.”

The defendants are charged with dozens of felonies related to gun trafficking, including felony counts of corrupt organization; dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activity; criminal use of a communications facility; illegal sale or transfer of firearms and criminal conspiracy.

All eight defendants are in the process of being arrested on the new charges and will be arraigned. At arraignment, bail will be set for the five defendants who are not charged with murder. A preliminary hearing on the gun trafficking charges will be scheduled at the time of the arraignment.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If you’re handy with tools, they’re easy to make. And with no serial number, their origins are difficult to ascertain. Ghost guns are untraceable weapons that have become a headache for law enforcement as more and more criminals deploy them.

Several ghost gun cases have recently made headlines in the Delaware Valley.

 Montgomery County detectives, Hatfield Township, and federal authorities worked to bring down a ghost gun trafficking organization. It resulted from an investigation that began in May of this year when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials intercepted a shipment of firearm silencers from China at JFK International Airport in New York. That shipment was sent to Tony Phan Ho, 32, who resides in Hatfield.

A “ghost gun” is a firearm sold in a disassembled form and then put together into a fully functional deadly weapon using common household tools. Ghost guns can be acquired without a background check and are often used by those who cannot legally own a firearm, including minors. Because they don’t have serial numbers, law enforcement cannot trace them to their original buyers.

Ghost gun components manufactured in China have shown up in other federal criminal investigations. A 2022, a federal investigation codenamed Operation Silent Night targeted the smuggling of suppressors into the United States from China and seized almost 45,000 silencers, according to a report by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“HSI Operation Silent Night targeted the smuggling of firearm silencers into the United States from China,” the report said. “The operation, led by the HSI National Targeting Center-Investigations, targeted the manufacturer, supply chain, and end users of these illegal weapon components. HSI’s efforts on this operation help to keep dangerous weapon components out of the hands of criminal organizations and off our streets.”

It included 42,888 firearm silencers seized, 4,868 firearms seized, and 204 defendants arrested.

Although unrelated to the Montgomery County investigation, ghost guns have been recovered in other recent crimes. In July, Philadelphia police arrested alleged mass shooter Kimbrady Carriker, who investigators say was armed with two ghost guns. Carriker allegedly killed five people and wounded two others.

Following that incident, Philadelphia officials filed a lawsuit against two companies, Polymer80 Inc. and JSD Supply, which allegedly manufacture and sell ghost gun kits. “Polymer80 Inc. and JSD Supply have created a public nuisance by supplying illegal ghost guns to unlicensed individuals in Philadelphia, consequently perpetuating gun violence and causing devastating harm across the city, most often in Black and Brown neighborhoods,” said City Solicitor Diana Cortes.

On July 18, defendant Andrew Bizon of Morrisville was convicted of possessing five firearms, including three ghost guns. Bizon was found guilty of five felony counts of prohibited possession of a firearm and one misdemeanor count of possession of an instrument of crime.

In August, Abington Township police arrested a 17-year-old who brought a loaded ghost gun to a football game between Cheltenham and Abington high schools. The teen had two magazines and a laser sight on the weapon when taken into custody, police said.

In the Montgomery County investigation, Ho, who couldn’t legally own a firearm and silencers because of his criminal record, has been charged with corrupt organization, conspiracy, person not to possess a firearm, illegal firearms sales, dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, materially false statements, statement under penalty, criminal use of a communications facility, make/repair/sell offensive weapons and other firearms charges.

According to investigators with Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele’s Detective Bureau Violent Crime Unit and the Hatfield Township Police Department, Ho initially seemed remorseful for ordering the silencer components. But detectives quickly determined from their examination of his communications that Ho was allegedly a source of illegal guns, “with a business-like approach to the illegal manufacturing and distribution of firearms. He is alleged to have boasted in texts, ‘I make the ghostie guns.’”

Steele said Phan Ho had perfected his manufacturing methods.

In the affidavit of probable cause, investigators reported Ho “bragged on the extent of his customer base saying, ‘I (know) a whole bunch of n—–, like straight up hood n—–, that come all the way here to grab s—.’”

Rithga Ngoy, 32, of Hatfield, and Michael Phan Nguyen, 32, of Lansdale, are charged with corrupt organization, conspiracy, illegal firearms sales, and other related offenses in the same case.

“So when we investigated this case, it appears the defendant was able to make these guns in about 30 minutes. Sometimes between 30 and 50, but he had perfected the work on this,” Steele said. “In essence, a lot of guns can be put out during that period. He was running a gun manufacturing business; he’s distributing guns throughout our community. He was putting the guns into the hands of criminals, and that’s a danger to everyone in our community.”

“You’ve seen a situation here where somebody is distributing multiple guns, putting dangerous instruments out upon the streets – putting them in the hands of criminals, people who can’t legally buy a gun,” Steele added. “And so that’s what we’ve been able to stop here. Someone who clearly knows how to manufacture is clearly doing it at a fast pace and clearly putting them in the hands of people who can’t have them, and he faces significant consequences.”

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From a press release

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, Homeland Security Investigations (Philadelphia) Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker and Hatfield Township Police Chief William Tierney announce the arrest of Tony Phan Ho, 32, and Rithga Ngoy, 36, both of Hatfield; and Michael Phan Nguyen, 32, of Lansdale, on gun trafficking charges related to manufacturing ghost guns and suppressors (silencers) as well as illegal sales of those items.

The investigation into this gun trafficking organization began in May 2023, when a shipment of firearm suppressor component parts from China was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at JFK International Airport in New York. The shipment of suppressor parts was being shipped to defendant Ho at his home address in Hatfield. Ho is legally precluded from possessing a firearm, which includes suppressors/silencers.

Homeland Security Investigations contacted the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and Hatfield Police in early July 2023, and together detectives and an HSI agent spoke with Ho at his residence, then obtained a search warrant for his residence and a shed workshop where Ho was manufacturing firearms.

Tony Ho

Searching of Ho’s property, detectives allegedly found all of the tools needed to privately manufacture firearms, numerous AR-15 rifle parts, firearm sights, firearm sight tools, a Polymer80 tool kit, weapon mounted lights, a Glock pistol barrel, a Sig Sauer 320P modular grip frame, assorted other firearms parts, a 3D printer and ammunition, officials said.

The investigators also found numerous photos of completed firearms and partially made firearms in Ho’s cellphone as well as several videos of firearms, including one that  showed Ho lying in his backdoor frame firing an AR-15-style rifle with a silencer attached out into his residence’s backyard.

Michael Nyugen

Also found within the cellphone were communications between the three defendants and others unnamed regarding the availability and sales of the firearms made by Ho and the attempted illegal purchase of a firearm from a gun store by Nguyen. The captured communications identified 15 illegal firearm sales dating back to March 2020.

Ahead of the interview with law enforcement and search of Ho’s residence, Ho asked his co-conspirator Ngoy to take his firearms so the firearms would not be in Ho’s residence. Ngoy later turned in to Hatfield Police the multiple firearms parts and the 15 functioning firearms that he was holding for Ho—14 of which were ghosts guns or privately-made completed firearms.

“The items found at Ho’s residence, the photos of numerous privately made firearms taken at his residence and the quantity of firearms parts that Ho bought online clearly show that he was manufacturing a significant number of privately made firearms and silencers on site,” said DA Kevin Steele. “The true extent of his firearms manufacturing business—as well as the extent of the criminal activities those firearms were then used in—may never be known, especially since privately made firearms have no serial numbers. These ghost guns are a great danger to the safety of our communities.”

Rithga Ngoy

Ho is charged with corrupt organization, conspiracy, person not to possess a firearm, illegal firearms sales, dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, materially false statements, statement under penalty, criminal use of a communications facility, make/repair/sell offensive weapons and other firearms charges.

Ngoy is charged with corrupt organization, conspiracy, illegal firearms sales, dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, and criminal use of a communications facility and other firearms charges.

Nguyen is charged with corrupt organization, conspiracy, illegal firearms sales, dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, and criminal use of a communications facility and other firearms charges.

Ho and Ngoy were arrested and arraigned Aug. 28, 2023, before Magisterial District Judge Michael P. Quinn, who set bail at $250,000 cash for each defendant. Nguyen turned himself in to police and was arraigned Aug. 28, 2023, before Quinn, who set bail at $75,000 10 percent. During a bail review hearing on Aug. 28, 2021, Court of Common Pleas Judge William R. Carpenter did not change the defendants’ bail amounts. As a condition of bail, each defendant also had to surrender his passport and may not possess a firearm. The defendants were unable to make bail and were remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

A preliminary hearing for all three defendants is scheduled for 9 a.m., Sept. 13, 2023, before Magisterial District Judge Edward Levine. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Samantha Arena.

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