Ridgefield Park Police Find Ghost Gun, Seize Three NY Teens At Illegal Car Meet

A trio of teens who tried to flee an illegal car meet when Ridgefield Park police showed up had a ghost gun and a high-capacity magazine for it in their sedan when they were stopped, authorities said.

Responding officers found 50 or so assembled vehicles “revving their engines and burning out” in a parking lot on Challenger Road between the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 46 shortly after 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, Lt. Art Jensen said.

The driver began speeding off as police arrived, the lieutenant said.

Officers issued a host of summonses to the drivers they managed to stop – and even impounded some vehicles, he said.

Sgt. William Morton and Officer Kenneth Knebl stopped an Infinity G37 with New York license plates and immediately spotted “what appeared to be a black handgun protruding from underneath the driver’s seat,” Jensen said.

It turned out to be a do-it-yourself ghost gun made from kits of parts and tools, with no serial number registered to a federally licensed manufacturer. This allows criminals to bypass background checks while making it all but impossible to trace the weapons to any individuals.

They also found several stolen credit cards.

The Infinity’s 16-year-old driver was taken into custody, along with two passengers – one, 17, and the other identified as 19-year-old Joseph Lombardi of Staten Island.

Lombardi was charged with weapons and illegal magazine offenses, as well as possession of stolen credit cards, and sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.

Police signed delinquency complaints against the minors and sent them to the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center in Teterboro. Their cases will be held behind closed doors because of their ages in the Family Part of Superior Court, also in Hackensack.

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