Conn. man trafficked ‘ghost guns’ through NYC, had custom-built AR-15 with Bloods slogan: feds
A ghost gun dealer caught trafficking firearm parts through Manhattan put his own flourish on a custom-made AR-15 rifle: Red paint and a Bloods gang slogan etched on the weapon, according to federal prosecutors.
Melvin Burroughs, 35, of Ansonia, Conn., ran a ghost gun and gun trafficking business since 2019, Manhattan federal prosecutors charged Thursday.
But a broad-daylight incident outside his home last year alerted the feds to his illegal operation, according to a complaint. On March 14, 2021, he fired five rounds at two men approaching his home, federal prosecutors say.
The Ansonia police then searched his house and found two completed ghost guns, ghost gun parts, a stolen .50-caliber Desert Eagle pistol, and the custom AR-15, which had the words “SUU WHOOP” inscribed on it, according to court filings. Prosecutors say that’s a “call out” used by members of the Bloods gang.
Burroughs also had the parts to make a flamethrower, federal prosecutors allege.
Cops in Ansonia arrested Burroughs on a slew of charges, but that didn’t slow him down. On Jan 8., while out on bail, he went to a gun show in Pennsylvania and left with kits to build 17 ghost guns, a lower receiver for an AR-15, an 18-inch machete, ammunition and several extended magazines, prosecutors said.
He allegedly drove his haul through Manhattan before law enforcement agents, who were following him, stopped him in Westchester County.
Burroughs was indicted in February on federal felon-with-a-firearm charges. He was hit Wednesday with new charges after investigators said they combed through his cell phone data to find evidence of his trafficking business.
He’s now charged with trafficking firearms, which carries a maximum 10-year sentence, conspiracy to traffic firearms, and possessing ammunition as a felon.
Police have seen an influx of build-them-yourself ghost guns used in crimes across New York City, including the gun used to kill 16-year-old Angellyh Yambo in the Bronx on April 8.
Ghost gun makers can use 3D printers to manufacture weapons’ plastic or polymer parts, printing out a gun’s lower receiver in about 12 hours from blueprints that can be easily downloaded online. Metal upper receivers must be bought separately.
