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Facing a lawsuit, ghost gun maker ghosts its own lawyer, court papers say
By
Matt Katz
Published Sep 3, 2024
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Obtained by Gothamist
By
Matt Katz
Published Sep 3, 2024
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A ghost gun manufacturer has ghosted its own attorney, even as it faces a lawsuit holding it accountable for the shooting death of a 16-year-old Bronx girl, according to a court filing.
The attorney for the Nevada-based company, Polymer80, has filed a motion asking a Bronx supreme court justice to remove him from the case, saying company executives have stopped returning his calls and emails.
An attorney for the family of the girl who was killed said the fact that company officials are not communicating makes them concerned that they will try to duck responsibility, and the law.
“This is a company that, with intention, has operated in such a way to… get around the laws, and make the laws suit their own purposes,” said Anthony Beneduce, an attorney for the family of Angellyh Yambo, who was caught in a Bronx shooting as she left school in 2022. “And now that the law is no longer suiting their own purposes to make money, they’re trying to disappear.”
Ghost guns are essentially homemade weapons, allowing users to print parts using a 3-D printer or assemble a weapon using a kit. Illegal in New York, they generally lack serial numbers, making them harder to trace. Users can also avoid submitting to background checks. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear a challenge to a Biden administration rule regulating ghost guns.
Polymer80’s attorney, David Osborne of Goldstein Law Partners in Pennsylvania, did not respond to an emailed request for comment, and representatives of Polymer80 could not be reached. The company’s website and phone lines appear to be down.
The 9mm ghost gun used to kill Angellyh Yambo.
Court documents
Polymer80, a leading manufacturer of kits used to make ghost guns, has not filed for bankruptcy, Benduce said, but its CEO recently issued a vague social media post indicating Polymer80 was at least temporarily shutting down due to a barrage of lawsuits.
Polymer80 has settled lawsuits totaling $7.5 million with the cities of Los Angeles, Baltimore and Philadelphia in recent years, according to news site the Trace. The company also agreed to stop selling ghost gun kits in other states.
The company has filed a motion to dismiss the suit from Yambo’s family. It is pending.
Beneduce said he sees the successful $73 million lawsuit against Remington, the company that manufactured the weapon used to kill children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, as a model for his lawsuit.
“I want justice,” said Yanely Henriquez, Yambo’s mother, to “make sure that another child can stay safe, so another mother does not go through what I’m going through, so another family cannot be torn apart the way that we are. And that’s the main goal of this lawsuit.”
Henriquez said responsibility for the shooting lies both with Polymer80 and the shooter, Jeremiah Ryan, who was 17 at the time and is currently serving a sentence of 15 years to life. An NYPD lab report provided by Beneduce shows that police traced the frame of the gun used in the shooting to Polymer80.
The family is seeking monetary compensation for pain and suffering. At least some of that money would be used to support a foundation in Yambo’s name that supports after-school programs, Henriquez said.
“Angellyh was very bubbly, Angellyh was very caring, respectful,” said Henriquez, who called her daughter her best friend. “Angellyh is missed so much by everyone.”
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Matt Katz
Matt Katz is a former WNYC & Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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