Credit: Montgomery County, Pa.
Firearms were purchased in Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, Lehigh, Wayne and Westmoreland counties
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry, ATF Philadelphia Field Division Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree, U.S. Postal Service Supervisory Postal Inspector Paul Zavorski, Pottstown Police Chief Mick Markovich, Upper Merion Township Police Chief Thomas Nolan and New Hanover Township Police Chief John Ciarlello announce the dismantling of a gun trafficking organization that was illegally buying and selling store-bought firearms as well as manufacturing and selling an unknown number of 3D-printed “ghost guns,” suppressors (aka silencers) and machine gun conversion devices, known as “switches.”
This gun trafficking organization was operating out of storage unit and residences in Pottstown, where seven of the nine defendants lived, as well as manufacturing the 3D items from Groff’s residence in Boyertown, Pa. Defendants from Pottstown are: Michael Needling, 28, (15 illegal transfers); Keith Chaney, 26, (six illegal transfers); James Hiller, 18, (four illegal transfers); Desmond Bennett, 32, (six illegal transfers); and Maleec Borders, 23, (four illegal transfers); Ryan Stoudt, 25, (two illegal transfers); and Horace Keiffer, 36, (one illegal transfer). Also arrested were Lucas Groff, 28, of Boyertown (purchased eight firearms and was the 3D printing expert); and Nathaniel Arroyo, 27, of Birdsboro (eight illegal transfers).
The investigation into this gun trafficking organization began on Feb. 1, 2024, when Pottstown Police were dispatched to Pottstown Hospital for a stabbing victim. The victim, James Hiller, originally told police that after an argument over a small amount of marijuana, he was stabbed in the area of North Charlotte Street and Walnut Street in Pottstown. However, the investigation found that the stabbing occurred in Birdsboro in
Berks County, when Hiller, who at 18 years old is not allowed to buy or own a handgun, was attempting to sell an illegal firearm, which was not recovered by law enforcement.
Evidence indicated that Chaney was with Hiller when he was stabbed by the unknown buyer. The investigation into this single firearm sale expanded, revealing more members of the gun trafficking organization and the extensive criminal activities undertaken by this group of defendants.
Law enforcement organizations participating in this investigation were the Montgomery County Detective Bureau’s Violent Crime Unit and Narcotics Enforcement Team; Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force; Pottstown Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Pennsylvania State Police; Berks County Detectives; the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Gun Violence Task Force; and numerous police departments including Upper Merion Township, New Hanover Township, Exeter Township, Borough of Birdsboro, Robeson Township.
Law enforcement began cellphone downloads, tracing the multiple purchases of firearms by the defendants through the Electronic Record of Sale (EROS) system and through hard copies of ATF and Pennsylvania State Police forms at gun stores. Detectives also used surveillance, interviews, information from law enforcement agencies, call detail records, social media analysis, inspection of forms used in purchasing firearms and other methods of investigation.
The members of the corrupt organization specialized in the acquisition and distribution of illegal firearms. They used a variety of methods to achieve this objective, including purchasing 31 firearms from gun stores in eight counties: Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, Lehigh, Wayne and Westmoreland counties, some of which they kept for themselves. The organization also built personally manufactured firearms, commonly called ghost guns, using a 3D-printing lab that printed firearm “lowers” to which they added internet-purchased receivers and other parts needed to build out the firearm. They also 3D-printed machine gun conversion devices, known as “switches” or and suppressors, commonly called silencers.
The investigation found ample evidence that members of this gun trafficking organization were the primary contacts for individuals seeking to obtain or sell multiple types of firearms and modifications through unlawful means. All of these methods the gun trafficking group employed provided them with a consistent stream of illegal firearms and illegal firearm accessories.
“By illegally buying and selling store-bought firearms, this gun trafficking organization was arming criminals. That criminal activity alone threatens the safety of our communities. But this group went much further extending their criminal activities by selling switches to transform the semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns making them exponentially more deadly,” said DA Steele. “Added to that were their 3D-printed suppressors and firearms ‘lowers’ to which they purchased receivers and other necessary parts to manufacture ghost guns—untraceable firearms with no serial number. So now we have ‘silent machine guns’ in our communities, some without serial numbers. The risk to community members and law enforcement officials across Montgomery County, across the Commonwealth and across the United States is simply unmeasurable.”
Seventeen of the 31 firearms purchased by this group were recovered—some during search warrants at time of the defendants’ arrest, but others have been recovered in criminal incidents. One firearm purchased by Arroyo with its serial number obliterated was recovered in the hands of a felon who was not allowed to possess a firearm on Dec. 6, 2019, by West Goshen Police. Two others were used in road rage incidents. One was recovered by the Pennsylvania State Police on Dec. 5, 2022, during arrests for a road rage incident where shots were fired. Another firearm was recovered on May 29, 2024, by New Hanover Township Police after being used by Chaney in a road rage incident, where he shot at a vehicle while riding a motorcycle and left the scene, then gave the firearm to Groff, and police recovered it.
“This criminal organization’s aim was to profit from providing criminals with firearms altered to achieve optimal destruction while avoiding law enforcement detection,” said Attorney General Henry. “I applaud the calculated collaboration from law enforcement, which was necessary to uncover and take down what was a very sophisticated and dangerous network of offenders. Every firearm that is illegally trafficked is a direct threat to public safety, and my office is committed to removing those weapons from neighborhoods across the Commonwealth.”
The ATF’s Philadelphia Field Office was an integral part of this case.
“Firearms trafficking endangers our neighborhoods by putting guns in the hands of violent criminals and other prohibited people,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric DeGree. “When trafficking includes machine gun conversion devices that bring mayhem onto our streets, stopping these criminals is particularly urgent. We are proud to have assisted Montgomery County Detective Bureau rollup this illegal operation and stand ready to apply ATF’s unique crime gun intelligence tools to stop further firearms trafficking operations in concert with our local, state and federal partners.”
The defendants were arrested on various criminal charges, including felony counts of Corrupt Organization; Dealing in the Proceeds of Unlawful Activity; Criminal Use of a Communications Facility; Aggravated Assault; Crimes Committed with Firearms; Persons not to Possess Firearms, Illegal Sale or Transfer of Firearms, Prohibited Offensive Weapons and Criminal Conspiracy.
The defendants are in the process of being arrested on the new charges and will be arraigned today where bail will be set and a preliminary hearing scheduled. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant Chief of Trials Kathleen McLaughlin and Assistant District Attorney Robert Waeltz.
