Federal prison awaits seven Central Florida residents involved in a gun trafficking scheme that included hundreds of firearms and machine guns.
Six of those defendants – identified as Victor Manuel LaFontaine Ruiz, 32, of Poinciana; Jose Emanuel Maldonado Rodriguez, 33, of Kissimmee; Freddie Geovani Cruz Batiz, 37, of Kissimmee; Jomar Manuel Lopez Montanez, 31, of Kissimmee; Derrick Yamil Rivera Robles, 30, of Kissimmee; and Leonardo David Joseph Guerra, 24, of Orlando – pleaded guilty to gun trafficking conspiracy and firearm possession charges.
Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that the above defendants received the following prison sentences: three years and 10 months (Rivera Robles), four years (Joseph Guerra), five years and six months (Maldonado Rodriguez), seven years and three months (Cruz Batiz), seven years and eight months (Lopez Montanez), and 17 years and four months (LaFontaine Ruiz).
In addition, a jury found the seventh defendant in this case, 28-year-old St. Cloud resident Jincheng Shi, guilty of unlicensed gun dealing, aiding, and abetting and possession of a firearm as an alien admitted under a non-immigrant visa. Shi was then sentenced to seven years behind bars.
According to court records, beginning in September 2023, two of the defendants – LaFontaine Ruiz and Maldonado Rodriguez – operated a gun trafficking ring involving hundreds of firearms, machine guns, machine gun conversion devise, and high-capacity magazines needed for fully automatic weapons.
No federally licensed firearms dealers were involved in this operation.
Instead, LaFontaine Ruiz and Maldonado Rodriguez obtained firearms parts, including from a Chinese national, Shi, who was admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant visa in 2022. Under federal law, Shi is not legally allowed to possess firearms.
As part of the scheme, LaFontaine Ruiz and Maldonado Rodriguez assembled, manufactured, and modified semi-automatic and automatic firearms using a “ghost gunner” machine and specialized “endmill” drilling devices that were located at Maldonado Rodriguez’s home in Kissimmee.
With assistance from one of the co-defendants, Cruz Batiz, LaFontaine Ruiz and Maldonado Rodriguez sold firearms, including fully automatic weapons and machine gun conversion devices, to illegal aliens and convicted felons such as Lopez Montanez, Rivera Robles, and Joseph Guerra.
On February 7, 2025, LaFontaine Ruiz sold Lopez Montanez two firearms that were “falsely branded to appear as though they were legitimate firearms manufactured with engraved fake sequential serial numbers.” After the transaction, law enforcement officers attempted to stop Lopez Montanez, but he fled and unsuccessfully tried to hide the two firearms.
The following day, LaFontaine Ruiz brought five similar firearms to Maldonado Rodriguez.
Less than two weeks later, law enforcement officers executed five search warrants at various locations associated with the defendants in this case. During those searches, federal agents recovered five AR-style pistols with sequential and identical serial numbers at Maldonado Rodriguez’s house, along with at least three machine gun conversion devices and machinery that was used to assemble, modify, and manufacture the firearms and machine guns sold during this illegal operation.
At a property belonging to LaFontaine Ruiz, agents seized a completed rifle, miscellaneous gun parts, gun manufacturing and modification equipment, and “drug distribution paraphernalia with a blender and fentanyl” that was “packaged for sale.”
During a search of Cruz Batiz’s residence, agents found a handgun and an AR pistol, four machine gun conversion devices, and drug paraphernalia.
Agents also searched Shi’s residence and storage facility, recovering eight handguns, three rifles, and eight AR-style receivers.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Orlando Police Department, Winter Garden Police Department, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Apopka Police Department, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Highway Patrol.