The FBA and ATF recovered five AR-style pistols with sequential and identical serial numbers at Jose Maldonado’s Kissimmee residence. PHOTO/MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
Six men out of seven indicted in an alleged gun trafficking operation hail from Osceola County.
All could face five to 15 years in prison for charges like gun trafficking conspiracy, unlicensed gun dealing, aiding and abetting and possession of a machine gun.
The indicted individuals are:
Victor Manuel LaFontaine Ruiz, 31, Poinciana; Jose Emanuel Maldonado Rodriguez, 32, Kissimmee; Freddie Geovani Cruz Batiz, 36, Kissimmee; Jomar Manuel Lopez Montanez, 30, Kissimmee; Derrick Yamil Rivera Robles, 29, Kissimmee; Jincheng Shi, 27, St. Cloud; Leonardo David Joseph Guerra, 23, Orlando.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Court documents released by the Middle District of Florida indicate, from at least as early as September 2023 onward, Lafontaine and Maldonado operated a gun trafficking ring involving hundreds of firearms, machineguns, machinegun conversion devices, and high-capacity magazines needed for fully automatic weapons. This operation did not involve any federally licensed firearms dealers. Instead, Lafontaine and Maldonado obtained firearms parts, including from Jincheng Shi, a Chinese national. Lafontaine and Maldonado allegedly assembled, manufactured, and modified semi-automatic and automatic firearms using a “ghost gunner” machine and specialized “endmill” drilling devices at a workspace on Maldonado’s property in Kissimmee:
Lafontaine and Maldonado, along with assistance from Batiz, sold firearms, including fully automatic weapons and machine gun conversion devices that are used to convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns. They sold those items to illegal aliens and convicted felons such as Lopez Montanez, Rivera Robles, and Joseph Guerra, who were often brokering such transactions on behalf of other unknown customers.
On Sept. 17, 2023, Lafontaine showed a fully automatic firearm to a customer that was later sold during this operation and, on Oct. 9, 2023, Lafontaine quoted Rivera Robles (a convicted felon) a price of $150 for a machine gun conversion device known as a “chip,” that Rivera Robles purchased in March 2024.
On Feb. 7, 2025, Lafontaine sold Lopez Montanez (a convicted felon) two firearms falsely branded to appear as though they were legitimate firearms manufactured with engraved fake sequential serial numbers. When Lopez Montanez was stopped, he fled from law enforcement and attempted to hide the weapons that were eventually recovered. The next day, Lafontaine delivered five similar firearms to Maldonado.
On February 20, 2025, law enforcement executed five search warrants at various locations associated with this conspiracy. The items are still be inventoried. Preliminarily, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have recovered at least five AR-style pistols with sequential and identical serial numbers at Maldonado’s residence, along with at least three machine gun conversion devices, machinery used to assemble, modify, and manufacture the firearms and machine guns sold through this operation.
At Lafontaine’s residence, agents recovered a completed rifle, gun parts, gun manufacturing and modification equipment, and drug distribution paraphernalia with a blender and a powder that field-tested positive for fentanyl, packaged for sale. At Batiz’s residence, agents recovered a handgun and an AR pistol, four machine gun conversion devices, along with drug paraphernalia and powders packaged for distribution that are still being tested. Eight handguns, three rifles, and eight AR-style receivers were recovered from Shi’s residence and storage lockers.
The FBI worked with Central Florida agencies like the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office on this case.
