Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announced the indictment of six individuals involved in an alleged gun trafficking operation in Central Florida. A seventh individual has been separately charged by complaint in connection with the same conspiracy. The defendants are also facing forfeiture of specific firearms recovered during the investigation.
The accused individuals include Victor Manuel LaFontaine Ruiz, Jose Emanuel Maldonado Rodriguez, Freddie Geovani Cruz Batiz, Jomar Manuel Lopez Montanez, Derrick Yamil Rivera Robles, Leonardo David Joseph Guerra, and Jincheng Shi. They face charges ranging from gun trafficking conspiracy to unlicensed gun dealing and possession of machineguns.
According to court documents, Lafontaine and Maldonado operated a gun trafficking ring since at least September 2023. The operation involved hundreds of firearms and machinegun conversion devices without any involvement from federally licensed firearms dealers. The duo allegedly used parts obtained from Jincheng Shi to assemble and modify firearms using specialized equipment on Maldonado’s property in Kissimmee.
Lafontaine and Maldonado reportedly sold these firearms to illegal aliens and convicted felons like Lopez Montanez, Rivera Robles, and Joseph Guerra. These transactions included fully automatic weapons and conversion devices known as "chips" or "buttons."
Significant incidents within this operation included Lafontaine showing a fully automatic firearm on September 17, 2023, which was later sold. On October 9, 2023, he quoted Rivera Robles $150 for a machinegun conversion device that was purchased in March 2024. In February 2025, Lafontaine sold two falsely branded firearms to Lopez Montanez who attempted to evade law enforcement when stopped.
Law enforcement executed five search warrants related to this conspiracy on February 20, 2025. Preliminary findings by the FBI and ATF include AR-style pistols with identical serial numbers at Maldonado's residence along with machinery used for firearm assembly.
Additional recoveries were made at various locations linked to the suspects including a completed rifle at Lafontaine’s residence along with drug paraphernalia testing positive for fentanyl; firearms and drug paraphernalia at Batiz’s residence; handguns and rifles at Shi’s residence.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty as an indictment is merely a formal charge of federal criminal law violations.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) aimed at reducing violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies. It also falls under an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation focused on dismantling high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States.