ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 A federal judge sentenced seven men this week in a gun trafficking conspiracy in the Metro Orlando area involving hundreds of guns, machine guns, machine gun conversion devices and more.<\/p>\n
Victor Manuel LaFontaine Ruiz, 32, and Jose Emanuel Maldonado Rodriguez, 33, both pleaded guilty to gun trafficking conspiracy charges.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re accused of running the operation out of a workspace on Maldonado\u2019s property in Kissimmee since 2023.<\/p>\n
Weapons from the gun trafficking investigation. (U.S. Department of Justice)<\/p>\n
On that property, investigators say the two men assembled and modified semi-automatic and automatic guns using a \u201cghost runner\u201d machine and special drilling devices, made to look like legitimately-made firearms with fake serial numbers.<\/p>\n
Investigators say the two men sold the guns to undocumented immigrants and convicted felons. <\/p>\n
A release from the U.S. Department of Justice says three of these men, Jomar Manuel Lopez Montanez, Derrick Yamil Rivera Robles, and Leonardo David Joseph Guerra, would also broker transactions on behalf of unknown customers.<\/p>\n
Weapons from the gun trafficking investigation. (U.S. Department of Justice)<\/p>\n
Those three men and another man, Freddie Geovani Cruz Batiz, all pleaded guilty to gun trafficking conspiracy and other charges.<\/p>\n
A seventh man, Jincheng Shi, was convicted by a jury for unlicensed gun dealing, aiding and abetting. Prosecutors say Shi, a Chinese national in the country on a non-immigrant visa, sold gun parts to Maldonado and LaFontaine.<\/p>\n
A multi-agency task force, including the FBI, ATF, the Florida Highway Patrol, the sheriff\u2019s offices in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, and police departments in Winter Garden, Apopka, and Orlando investigated the case. <\/p>\n
Weapons from the gun trafficking investigation. (U.S. Department of Justice)<\/p>\n
In February of 2025, officers executed search warrants at various locations and discovered dozens of AR-style guns, rifles, handguns, gun parts, gun manufacturing equipment, drug paraphernalia, and fentanyl packaged for sale.<\/p>\n
Each of the men received the following sentences:<\/p>\n
Victor LaFontaine Ruiz: 17 years, 4 months<\/p>\n
Jose Maldonaldo Rodriguez: 5 years, 6 months<\/p>\n
Freddie Cruz Batiz: 7 years, 3 months<\/p>\n
Jomar Lopez Montanez: 7 years, 8 months<\/p>\n
Derrick Rivera Robles: 3 years, 10 months<\/p>\n
Leonardo Joseph Guerra: 4 years<\/p>\n
Jincheng Shi: 7 years<\/p>\n
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