Man was building, selling 'ghost guns' out of his home, authorities say

A South Jersey man was arrested recently after a search of his home turned up dozens of guns that he was allegedly building in his house.

Gregory Carleton

Detectives that searched Gregory Carleton's home found all the necessary pieces to build a functional firearm, known as "ghost guns," authorities said. In all, investigators seized 30 weapons.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) says people can make a firearm for personal use. But once the guns are for sale, they must be licensed by the ATF.

In Atlantic County, the prosecutor's office said Carleton, 56, of Marlton in Evesham Township, was manufacturing firearms that did not contain serial numbers. He had in his home, according to authorities, undocumented handgun and rifle uppers and lowers, and frames.

Carleton was arrested in Hammonton, the Atlantic prosecutor's office said.

Parts used to make firearms, including assault weapons, are readily for sale on websites like ghostguns.com. Last fall, A reporter for ABC's Action News in Philadelphia, who purchased all the parts for an AR-15 online, was able to build a semi-automatic firearm in four hours -- and it only cost $600.

In November, the Giffords Law Center, a gun safety group founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords - critically wounded in the head during a 2011 shooting in her home state of Arizona - implored web servers hosting sites like ghostguns.com to pull the pages.

"They allow individuals who are legally barred from buying a firearm to buy materials and tools that allow them to assemble guns themselves," a statement from the group states.

Guns made from parts purchased from these websites are also hard to be traced by law enforcement groups, the Giffords statement said.

Ghostguns.com did not immediately return a request for an interview. In a statement provided to the New York Times, the website's president, Kyle Martin, said his company obeys state and federal laws.

"We deal with a lot of customers that are hobbyists," Martin told The Times in an email. "The customers we have come into contact with usually already own firearms, have the mechanical skills to complete the manufacturing process and come from all walks of life, including many military and law enforcement."

Furthermore, the website states that a person has the constitutional right to build his or her own gun.

"Building your own AR15 rifle ... is a practice that stems from the 2

nd

Amendment of our constitution -- and doing so without the government involvement is the idea behind 'shall not be infringed,'" the website states.

Carleton, the alleged gun manufacturer from Marlton, had a total of 30 guns in his home, authorities said. The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office could not immediately provide a breakdown of how many of the firearms were "ghost guns."

He was charged with possession of a handgun without a permit, unlawful manufacture of a gun or other weapon and unlawful sale of a gun or other weapon.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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