Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Bayside resident Andrew Chang pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon stemming from a March 2022 ghost gun bust. With the guilty plea, Chang is facing a sentence of approximately three-and-a-half years in prison.
Chang, 35, was arrested following two court-authorized search warrants at his residences at 215th Place in Bayside Terrace. The searches turned up several firearms, including seven completed nine millimeter semiautomatic ghost gun pistols, three rifles of assorted caliber, a 12-gauge shotgun, a polymer-based unfinished lower receiver, four large-capacity magazines, around 2,000 rounds of various caliber ammunition, a Dremel set, jig, plyers, drill bits and other equipment used to manufacture ghost guns and approximately $65,000 in cash, according to the Queens DA’s office.
After the arrest of Chang and three others in March 2022, Katz said the raids followed a long-term investigation utilizing various surveillance techniques, intelligence gathering and state-of-the-art analytics that focused on individuals who were purchasing polymer-based firearm components — parts that do not include any serial numbers — that can be easily assembled at home into operable firearms.
“This defendant pleaded guilty to amassing an arsenal of lethal illegal weapons and ammunition and gear,” Katz said. “We will continue to do everything we can to get deadly weapons off the streets of Queens.”
Chang is expected to return to court on April 28, where Justice Karen Gopee will deliver his prison sentence. Additionally, Chang is also expected to receive three years of post-release supervision.
