Seven people were sentenced in a Central Florida gun trafficking case.
The Central Florida gun trafficking ring includes hundreds of firearms, machine guns, machine gun conversion devices, and high-capacity magazines needed for fully automatic weapons. The suspects arrested were from Kissimmee, Poinciana, St. Cloud, and Orlando.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated this Central Florida case, with assistance from the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Police Department, the Winter Garden Police Department, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the Apopka Police Department, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Highway Patrol.
The convictions and sentences are:
- 32-year-old Victor Manuel LaFontaine Ruiz, of Poinciana: Gun trafficking conspiracy, and Brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (17 years, 4 months)
- 33-year-old Jose Emanuel Maldonado Rodriguez, of Kissimmee: Gun trafficking conspiracy, and Possession of machinegun (5 years, 6 months)
- 37-year-old Freddie Geovani Cruz Batiz, of Kissimmee: Gun trafficking conspiracy, and Possession of machinegun (7 years, 3 months)
- 31-year-old Jomar Manuel Lopez Montanez, of Kissimmee: Gun trafficking conspiracy, and Felon in possession of a firearm (7 years, 8 months)
- 30-year-old Derrick Yamil Rivera Robles, of Kissimmee: Gun trafficking conspiracy, Unlicensed gun dealing, aiding and abetting, and Possession of machinegun (3 years, 10 months)
- 24-year-old Leonardo David Joseph Guerra, of Orlando: Gun trafficking conspiracy, and Possession of a firearm by an illegal alien (4 years)
- 28-year-old Jincheng Shi, of St. Cloud: Unlicensed gun dealing, aiding and abetting, and Possession of a firearm as an alien admitted under a non-immigrant visa (7 years)
According to court records, Lafontaine and Maldonado ran a gun trafficking ring that included hundreds of firearms, machineguns, machinegun conversion devices, and high-capacity magazines for fully automatic weapons beginning in September 2023. This operation did not include any federally regulated gun dealers. Instead, Lafontaine and Maldonado got firearm parts, including from Shi, a Chinese national admitted to the United States on a non-immigrant visa in 2022, placing him in a restricted class of individuals who are not legally permitted to own firearms. Lafontaine and Maldonado used a “ghost gunner” machine and specialized “endmill” drilling gear to build, manufacture, and modify semi-automatic and automatic rifles at a workplace on Maldonado’s Kissimmee property.
From there, Lafontaine and Maldonado, with Batiz’s help, sold firearms, including fully automatic weapons and machinegun conversion systems (“chips” or “buttons”) that convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns. They sold the things to illegal aliens and convicted felons, including Lopez Montanez, Rivera Robles, and Joseph Guerra, who frequently facilitated such transactions on behalf of unknown customers.
Lafontaine sold Lopez Montanez, a convicted felon, two weapons that were falsely branded to appear real, complete with etched bogus sequential serial numbers. When Lopez Montanez was apprehended by police, he escaped and attempted to conceal the weapons that were later discovered.
Law enforcement executed five search warrants at various sites related to this scheme. Federal agents discovered five AR-style pistols with sequential and identical serial numbers at Maldonado’s home (pictured below), as well as at least three machinegun conversion devices, which were used to assemble, modify, and manufacture the firearms and machine guns sold during this operation.
Agents discovered a completed rifle, gun parts, gun manufacturing and modification equipment, and drug trafficking paraphernalia at Lafontaine’s home, including a blender and fentanyl packaged for sale.
Agents seized a handgun and an AR pistol, four machine gun conversion equipment pieces, and drug paraphernalia from Batiz’s home.
Eight handguns, three rifles, and eight AR-style receivers were discovered at Shi’s apartment and storage facility, as shown in the photo.
Senior U.S. District Judge Roy punished seven individuals involved in a gun trafficking scam. B. Dalton. Six of the individuals pleaded guilty. Jincheng Shi was convicted by a jury. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Assistant US Attorneys Michael Felicetta and Dana Hill handled the prosecution of the case. It is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that mobilizes the Department of Justice’s full resources to combat the invasion of illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect local communities from violent criminals.
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