A jury convicted 44-year-old Albany resident Demetrio Daga on all 15 felony weapon counts after about two hours of deliberation, following a seven-day trial. The case involved firearms and gun parts investigators found at two Albany residences linked to Daga, as well as 3D printers. He faces up to 40 years in a New York state prison and is scheduled for sentencing on October 28.
Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon announced the verdict on August 26 and said Daga was remanded to Albany County Correctional Facility, according to the Albany County District Attorney's office. The indictment included one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree, two in the second degree, three in the third degree and nine counts of criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Second Amendment Foundation.
The case traces back to January 8, 2025, when New York State Police executed simultaneous search warrants at two Albany residences linked to Daga, the culmination of a 15-month investigation by the Special Investigations Unit's Gun Trafficking Interdiction Unit, as reported by the New York State Police. Troopers initially charged Daga in Albany City Court with two felony weapon counts before a grand jury later returned the full 15-count indictment, per the same agency.
What Investigators Say They Found
New York State Police said investigators also seized body armor, computers, electronic devices and thousands of rounds of ammunition from the two residences. The Second Amendment Foundation reported that trial evidence described 13 handguns, 22 AR-style rifles identified as ghost guns, 18 AR-style rifles bearing serial numbers and two pump-action shotguns. The reported inventory also included several 3D printers—one still running during the search—high-capacity magazines and more than 200 3D-printed lower handgun receivers and rifle frames.
Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jessica Blain-Lewis, the lead prosecutor, told jurors that Daga was buying and producing gun parts and building weapons inside his home, and she referred to his collection as an “arsenal” during closing arguments, the Second Amendment Foundation reported. Prosecutors called 17 witnesses over the course of the trial, while Daga's defense team called none. Blain-Lewis, notably, previously competed on the reality television series Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X in 2016, according to the Second Amendment Foundation's reporting.
How the Investigation Began
According to AmmoLand, state police surveillance began after Daga made online purchases in 2023 of a 3D printer, Glock springs and a 10-round magazine. The Second Amendment Foundation reported that the Queens County District Attorney's Office asked state police to examine Daga's online purchase history. State Police say the investigation culminated in January 2025 search warrants at two Albany residences; the agency has said it conducted the investigation.
Defense and Family Push Back
Daga's attorney, Kevin O'Brien, said his client had not harmed anyone, described him as a hardworking family man with no criminal history and called the case “fully political,” according to the Second Amendment Foundation. O'Brien said Daga's best plea offer before trial was eight years, and that he could still receive more than a decade in prison at sentencing, according to Daily Voice. The outlet reported that trial testimony did not show Daga had used the firearms to break another law; New York law criminalizes possession of certain homemade firearms.
Daga has two sons and told the Second Amendment Foundation that separation from his family had been the hardest part of the case. His family established a GoFundMe page to support them through the legal proceedings. Thirteen days before trial began, Daga appeared on the Meet the Pressers podcast, where he accused state police of lawfare and making false statements about his case, the Second Amendment Foundation reported.
The Legal Backdrop
The charges stem from New York's 2021 Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act and Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act, which Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law banning the possession, sale, and manufacture of unserialized firearm frames, receivers, and 3D-printed gun parts statewide, according to the New York State Senate. Kostas Moros, director of legal research and education for the Second Amendment Foundation, said that any New York law conflicting with the Second Amendment is void, citing the US Supreme Court's ruling in McDonald v. Chicago, which held that the Second Amendment is incorporated through the Due Process Clause.
The case arrives amid a broader statewide push against untraceable weapons. Governor Hochul and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg proposed legislation this past January requiring all 3D printers sold in New York to include hardware or software blocking the fabrication of firearms and firearm parts, a measure Hoodline covered in January. State officials have pointed to a 60 percent drop in shootings across New York between 2021 and 2025, according to the New York Governor's Office, as justification for continued crackdowns on illegal firearms pipelines.
How City Data and Federal Rules Fit In
The NYPD's reported recoveries of ghost guns in New York City rose from 17 in 2018 to 585 in 2022, then stood at 394 in 2023 and 438 in 2024; the department had recovered 137 so far in 2025. Those figures, published by the NYC Mayor's Office, are city-level counts, not statewide or national measures, and are not evidence connected to Daga's case. In a separate federal case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Bondi v. VanDerStok to allow enforcement of the ATF's 2022 ghost-gun regulation, according to The Trace. That decision concerned federal regulation of firearm kits and unfinished frames, not the New York state possession charges in Daga's case.
The Second Amendment Foundation reported that Daga is eligible for a state pardon, but not a presidential one.
