More Than 30 Firearms Recovered from Rockaway Park Home
On Friday, April 19, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Ryszard Materna has been arraigned on weapon possession charges after a search of his Rockaway Park home uncovered ghost guns, including assault weapons, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition and other weapons-related paraphernalia.
“For those who think they are safe placing orders online and assembling deadly weapons in the comfort of their home, they need to think again,” District Attorney Katz said in a press release. “So far this year, we have recovered 69% of the ghost guns seized citywide and we will continue to meticulously go after illegal guns and those who stockpile them. Every gun that we seize is a potential tragedy averted.”
New York City Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban said, “These charges emphasize that the manufacturing of illegal, untraceable ghost guns is one of New York City’s most pressing public safety concerns, and we are taking direct action to combat this issue. Our relentless efforts to eliminate gun violence in New York make clear that NYPD investigators, in collaboration with the Queens District Attorney’s office, will continue to vigorously pursue these types of cases.”
Materna, 51, of Beach 117th Street was arraigned on April 18 on a 281-count complaint charging him with two count of criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree; 53 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree; 137 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; 19 counts of manufacture, transport, disposition and defacement of weapons and dangerous instruments and appliances; 29 counts of criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree; 29 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree; six counts of failure to safely store files, shotguns and firearms in the first degree; endangering the welfare of a child; three counts of unlawful possession of pistol or revolver ammunition; and two counts of failure to obtain firearm certificates of registration.
Materna faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Criminal Court Judge Germaine Auguste ordered the defendant to return to court on April 22.
According to the charges, the District Attorney’s office conducted a long-term investigation into Materna’s purchase of polymer-based firearm components that can be easily assembled into operable weapons, known as ghost guns.
Materna placed numerous orders for firearm components, accessories and ammunition which were shipped to an address in Pennsylvania and his home in Rockaway Park.
On April 17, officers from the NYPD and the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau executed a court-authorized search warrant at the defendant’s residence and recovered roughly 30 weapons, mostly semiautomatic ghost guns, along with a few commercially made rifles, pistols and a shotgun, plus thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The seizure caps the fifth successful ghost gun investigation this year carried out by the Queens District Attorney’s office, which has led the city in ghost gun recoveries every year since 2021. In that time, the District Attorney’s efforts to rid the city of ghost guns has resulted in the recovery of 392 illegal firearms. Thus far in 2024, Queens is leading New York City with 69% of the 110 total ghost guns recovered citywide to date.
