WHITE PLAINS, NY (March 9, 2023) — Juan Sanchez, 29, of 81 Highland Avenue, New Rochelle, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon – 3 (related to the alleged possession of three or more firearms) in full satisfaction of a 49 count indictment.
Appearing before Judge Maurice D. Williams in Westchester County Criminal Court, Sanchez accepted a negotiated plea, pleading guilty to the Criminal Possession of a Weapon charge which comes with a 7-year prison sentence in exchange for a reduced sentence of 3 years in state prison and 3 years of supervised release.
Sanchez has been incarcerated in the Westchester County Jail since his arrest in January 2022. His time in state prison will be reduced based on credit for time served.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26, 2023.
Operation Casper was a six-month multi-agency investigation into “ghost guns” and other illegal firearms in Westchester and Putnam Counties. Search warrants were executed on January 25, 2022, at eight locations in Westchester and Putnam by investigators from County, local, and federal law enforcement agencies. Eleven suspects were arraigned on dozens of state or federal charges after more than 100 weapons were seized, and 11 persons arrested. Rifles, handguns, “ghost guns” and high-capacity drum magazines were seized. Several silencers, ballistic vests, counterfeit police shields and quantities of ammunition were also seized in the probe. Some weapons lacked a serial number — so-called ghost guns — and other weapons had defaced serial numbers.
The high-capacity drum magazines that were seized are of a similar type to the one used in the murders of two New York City police officers days before the Operation Casper arrests.
“As we prepare to pay our final respects to Officer Jason Rivera tomorrow and his partner Officer Wilbert Mora next week, we are reminded of the dangers of illegal guns, not just in New York City,” County Executive George Latimer said at a press conference to announce the results of Operation Casper on January 27, 2022.
Among those arrested as part of Operation Casper, following a police raid at his home at 7:30 am, was Sanchez.
Sanchez was charged by New Rochelle Police with 3 Counts Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2 (Loaded Firearm), 3 Counts Criminal Possession of a Weapon — 2 (Disguised Gun), Criminal Possession of a Weapon – 3, 40 Counts Unlawful Possession Ammo Feed Device and 4 Counts Criminal Possession of a Weapon — 3 (Silencer).
A “Disguised Gun” is described in the New York State penal code as a firearm, rifle, pistol, shotgun or machine-gun transformed to resemble a toy gun by either altering or concealing the original color or surface of the gun with the purpose of selling such weapon.
The investigation which became Operation Casper was launched in June 2021 when police departments in Westchester, along with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, created a task force to address an influx of ghost guns and other illegal firearms into the Westchester County region. Detectives in the multi-agency Real Time Crime Center were tasked with finding innovative ways to reduce gun crimes and prevent violence.
These detectives were assisted by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, New York City Police Department, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Rockland County DA’s office. Prosecutors from Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the Southern District of New York provided guidance and case support as specific targets and locations were identified.
Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason thanked all the agencies with personnel assigned to the Real Time Crime center for their roles in the successful investigation.
“Working collaboratively with our law enforcement partners is a critical way we keep Westchester safe,” Gleason said.
New Rochelle Police Deputy Commissioner Robert Gazzola commented on the West End Shooting that resulted in the death of Julian Oliveros.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah commented on the West End Shooting that resulted in the death of Julian Oliveros.
About 8 hours after New Rochelle Police Officers executed the Sanchez warrant at 81 Highland Avenue at about 4 pm — during which time students were in class at New Rochelle High School — New Rochelle Police Officers tracked Tommy Rivera, then 16, to his home at 16 Glen Place after a shooting several blocks away. CCTV presented in open court depicts Rivera ambushing a fellow student, also 16, shooting and killing him. Police recovered a ghost gun described by the Westchester County District Attorney as the “murder weapon” in the killing of Julian Oliveros. Inside Rivera’s bedroom, police seized ghost gun kits and parts that could be assembled to make two more guns, a drill, and ammunition.
From the back of the property at 81 Highland Avenue to the front of the property at 16 Glen Place is less than 100 feet.
The proximity of what appears to be two “ghost gun factories” with arrests on gun charges at both locations on the same day just hours apart and a murder involving one of the ghost guns led New Rochelle detectives to consider a possible connection between the two cases, sources say.
An NRPD spokesperson declined to comment at the time and the Rivera case, still ongoing at the same courthouse, was not referenced at the Sanchez arraignment on Wednesday.
Rivera and other neighbors would have been able to see and hear police activity at such an early hour, raising the question whether a spooked Rivera took his gun from his home when he left for New Rochelle High School that morning after his neighbor was arrested.
Later in the day on Tuesday, January 25th, at about 3:38pm, New Rochelle Police received a call about a shooting that had just occurred on the corner of Fourth Street and Washington Avenue. Upon arrival, officers located Julian Oliveros, a 16-year-old male victim with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers administered First Aid and the victim was transported to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery but succumbed to his injures.
Suspect information was immediately developed, and New Rochelle Detectives were able to locate and arrest Tommy Rivera, a 16-year-old male suspect near Glen Place and Beechwood Avenue, who was found to be in possession of a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. In court after his arrest, a court officer stated that Tommy Rivera resides at 16 Glen Place, where he lives with his mother and grandmother.
Juan Sanchez was arrested early Tuesday morning at 81 Highland Avenue. Tommy Rivera was arrested Tuesday afternoon less than 100 feet away on Tuesday afternoon.
RELATED:
NRPD PC Gazzola at Ghost Gun Presser
DA Mimi Rocah at Ghost Gun Presser
Operation Casper and West End Shooting: Multiple Ghost Gun Arrests 100 Feet, 10 Hours Apart
Juan Sanchez Hires El Chapo’s Law Firm to Fight Multiple Gun Charges in New Rochelle