FIND & POST LOCAL JOBS FREE AT QNS.COM/JOBS
Your Neighborhood — Your News®
THE NEWSPAPER OF JAMAICA, HOLLIS & ST. ALBANS
75 cents
Oct. 22 - Oct. 28, 2021
Rosedale couple facing 20 years in prison
after weapons stockpile found in home
BY BILL PARRY
A Rosedale couple was charged
with illegal possession and sale of firearms,
according to Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz.
Lisette Espinal, 32, and Ricardi
Kiem, 31, both of Hook Creek Boulevard,
were arraigned Friday, Oct. 15,
before Queens Criminal Court Judge
Eugene Guarino on a 39-count criminal
complaint charging them with
criminal possession of a weapon,
criminal sale of a firearm, endangering
the welfare of a child and other
crimes for allegedly having a stockpile
of illegal weapons in their home.
Kiem was allegedly assembling
“untraceable ghost guns” in their basement
shared with their child, prosecutors
said. As alleged, the NYPD was
conducting an ongoing investigation
and requested a search warrant on
Oct. 12 for the home of Kiem.
On Thursday, Oct. 14, law enforcement
executed the court-authorized
warrant on the Hook Creek home
where both defendants were present,
along with their 10-year-old daughter.
Tools and contraband were allegedly
recovered from the couple’s bedroom
and there were also firearms and components
of firearms found in the dresser
drawer of the youngster’s bedroom,
according to prosecutors.
Police seized five fully assembled
9mm pistols, a fully assembled .22-caliber
pistol, parts required to assemble
three additional 9mm pistols, four
large-capacity magazines and approximately
650 rounds of ammunition of
Police seized firearms and components required to make “ghost guns” in a couple’s Rosedale home they shared with their
10-year-old daughter. Photo courtesy of Queens DA’s offi ce
various calibers and other firearm-related
components in the couple’s basement,
according to the charges.
Katz said assembly and storage of
the firearms were allegedly in plain
view of the child in the home they all
shared. The city’s License and Permit
database showed that Kiem does not
have a license to possess or own firearms
in New York City and he is also
not licensed to carry a firearm.
“Ghost guns are essentially homemade
weapons that can be assembled
by anyone without background checks
or any other oversight,” Katz said.
“Those who seek to enrich themselves
by selling these deadly firearms are
literally lining their pockets with
blood money. Take this warning seriously:
we will continue to relentlessly
go after backstreet gun dealers to keep
our neighborhoods safe.”
Judge Guarino ordered the defendants
to return to court on Nov. 3. Espinal
and Kiem face up to 20 years in
prison if convicted.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail
at bparry@schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
Vol. 9 No. 43 40 total pages
Now open in Kew Gardens too.
orlincohen.com
Kickboxing knock
out your knee?
We’ve Got Specialists
For That SM
/orlincohen.com
/JOBS
link
link
