Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Christopher Lall and Steve Salamalay were charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon after search warrants executed at their homes, a storage unit, and Salamalay’s workplace uncovered a dozen illegal firearms, including ghost guns, as well as high-capacity magazines, ammunition and gun manufacturing tools.
District Attorney Katz said: “Illegal firearms cause unspeakable tragedies in our communities. I have prioritized taking guns off the street and will continue to fight the sale and increased manufacture of deadly weapons in Queens. Thanks to the work of my Crime Strategies & Intelligence Bureau, the seized weapons and manufacturing tools can no longer be used to inflict damage. I will continue to be relentless in my pursuit of those who bring guns into this borough.”
Lall, 32, of Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, was arraigned on a 57-count complaint charging him with 14 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, 18 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, seven counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, six counts of criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree, six counts of criminal possession of a firearm and six counts of criminal possession of ammunition. Judge Stephanie Zaro ordered Lall to return to court Sept. 19. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Salamalay, 30, of 89th Avenue in Jamaica, was arraigned on a 40-count complaint charging him with seven counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, 15 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, six counts of criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree, eight counts of criminal possession of a firearm, three counts of criminal possession of ammunition, and failure to obtain firearms certificates of registration. Judge Zaro ordered Salamalay to return to court Sept. 19. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
According to the charges:
- Members of the Queens District Attorney’s office conducted a long-term investigation into the defendants’ purchase of polymer-based, unserialized firearm components, which are easily assembled into operable firearms without serial numbers, making the weapons, commonly referred to as ghost guns, untraceable.
- On August 23, officers from the New York Police Department’s Emergency Services Unit and Major Case Field Intelligence Team, and the Queens District Attorney’s Detective Bureau executed a court-authorized search warrant of Lall’s residence and storage unit, both located on Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, as well as Salamalay’s home in Queens and his workplace in Manhattan.
The following were recovered during the searches:
- 9-millimeter semiautomatic ghost gun pistol, loaded with six rounds of 9-millimeter caliber ammunition
- Two P80 Glock-style 9-millimeter semiautomatic ghost gun firearms
- .38 Special revolver, loaded with six rounds of .38 Special caliber ammunition
- .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, loaded with 10 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition
- .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol, loaded with nine rounds of .40 caliber ammunition
- .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol, loaded with seven rounds of .380 caliber ammunition
- 56 caliber assault pistol with a threaded barrel and a 30-round detachable box magazine loaded with 30 rounds of 5.56 caliber ammunition
- Glock 19 9-millimitier semiautomatic pistol firearm.
- Taurus 9-millimeter semiautomatic firearm
- Llama 9-millimeter semiautomatic firearm
- Revolver firearm
- Double barrel 12-gauge shotgun
- 18 high-capacity ammunition feeding devices capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition
- 26 ammunition feeding devices capable of holding less than 10 rounds of ammunition.
- 34 firearm magazines capable of holding 10 or fewer rounds of ammunition
- Approximately 1,380 rounds of various caliber ammunition, including 9-millimeter, .38 Special, .45, .40, .380., 5.56 caliber ammunition, and 12-gauge shotgun shells
- Two handheld drill press devices and a sight pusher, used to manufacture or assemble ghost guns
A check conducted of the License and Permit Systems database revealed that neither Lall nor Salamalay hold a license to possess or own firearms in New York City.
Including this takedown, 86 ghost guns have been seized in Queens this year, more than in any other borough. The Queens District Attorney’s Office’s successful investigations and prosecution of numerous ghost gun manufacturers and traffickers has resulted in Queens leading all of New York City in the total number of ghost gun recoveries since 2021. In 2022, Queens led the boroughs with 174, or 40%, of the 436 ghost guns recovered citywide. From 2021 to 2022, total ghost gun recoveries were up 66% citywide. For 2022, ghost guns comprised 12% of all guns recovered citywide, compared to 4% in 2021, and 3% in 2020.
The investigation was conducted by Assistant District Attorney Attaul Haq, of the District Attorney’s Crime Strategies and Intelligence Bureau, with assistance from Supervising Intelligence Analyst Jennifer Rudy, and Intelligence Analysts Joanna Ceballos, Victoria Filipe, and Erik Hansen, and Trial Prep Assistant Kathryn Isaac, along with members of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau under the supervision of Sergeant Joseph Oliver and Lieutenant Janet Helgeson, and under the overall supervision of Chief of Detectives Thomas Conforti.
Also taking part in the investigation were NYPD Major Case Field Intelligence Detectives Mike Billotto, Victor Cardona, Paul Molinaro, John Schultz, Christopher Thomas, John Uske and Sergeant Christopher Schmitt, under the supervision of Sergeants Bogdan Tabor and Captain Christian Jara, and under the overall supervision of Inspector Courtney Nilan.
