More than 100 weapons, thousands of rounds of ammunition lands man behind bars
By Rob Polansky
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NEW BRITAIN, Connecticut (WFSB) — A man who was believed to be making and selling illegal guns was arrested by state police.
Steven Gerent-Mastrianni, 39, of New Britain, was arrested through an arrest warrant on Tuesday following a 10-month long investigation, state police said.
Troopers said they seized more than 100 weapons and tens of thousands of a rounds of ammunition.
The suspect is scheduled to face a judge on Wednesday.
Gerent-Mastrianni was charged with firearms trafficking, sale of an assault weapon, possession of an assault weapon, illegal transfer of a long gun, sale of large capacity magazines, possession of a machine gun, weapon in a motor vehicle, and illegal transfer of a manufactured firearm without a serial number, or what they described as a ghost gun.
Troopers said he was a pistol permit holder at the time of his arrest and was found carrying a “ghost” gun pistol on his person at that time.
Gerent-Mastrianni was processed and held on a court-ordered $500,000 bond.
Following his arrest, search warrants were executed on his home and several of his vehicles. As a result, state police said they seized more than 150 items of evidence including roughly 125 firearms, as well as firearm components capable of making firearms fully automatic.
“These firearms include multiple fully-automatic firearms, semi-automatic firearms, shotguns, pistols, pistols with threaded barrels, hundreds of high capacity magazines, and 30-40 thousand rounds of ammunition,” state police said in a news released. “Also seized was a high-tech 3D printer along with pistol lower receivers that appear to be made with the printer. The vast majority of these weapons are considered ‘ghost guns.’”
As part of the investigation, troopers said phones, computers and flash drives that were in the vicinity of the 3D printer were also seized.
Three homemade explosive devices were also found in the residence, according to state police. The Connecticut State Police Bomb Squad was on scene and safely disposed of them.
The investigation by members of the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Special Investigations was part of a collaborative effort by several law-enforcement agencies, that focuses on efforts to reduce illegal firearms on the streets in the state.
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