Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Dec. 12 that Bronx man, Ralph Berry, was sentenced to life in prison for the June 2000 fatal shooting in The Bronx of innocent bystander, Caprice Jones. Jones was left paralyzed from the shooting and died from his injuries 10 years later in November 2010. Berry was convicted following a jury trial on September 30, 2021, before then-U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan. Judge Nathan, now a U.S. circuit judge, sitting by designation in Manhattan federal court, imposed the sentence.

 

Reacting to the announcement, Williams said, “Ralph Berry callously ordered the shooting of a rival drug dealer that resulted in the senseless murder of Caprice Jones. Jones was simply enjoying a Father’s Day barbecue when his life was changed forever. As a result of Berry’s actions, Jones was left paralyzed and ultimately died from his injuries 10 years later. Berry has now been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.”

 

According to the prosecution, in the summer of 2000, Berry led a violent drug gang that operated in the McKinley Housing Development in the Morrisania section of The Bronx. On June 21, 2000, Berry ordered one of his subordinates to shoot a rival drug dealer with whom he had been feuding over drug territory. That subordinate followed Berry’s order and fired multiple shots into a Father’s Day barbecue which was being held on the McKinley Houses basketball courts, located on the grounds of the NYCHA housing complex located to the east of Melrose and to the northwest of Mott Haven.

 

According to the prosecution, Jones, an innocent bystander who was not involved in the drug dispute, was struck in the spine by one of the bullets. The gunshot injury he sustained that day left him paralyzed from the waist down and ultimately caused his death ten years later in November 2010 at the age of 42.

 

In addition to the prison term, Williams said Berry, 55, of The Bronx, was sentenced to five years’ supervised release and a $200 mandatory special assessment.

 

Williams praised what he said was the outstanding work of the NYPD and the special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic A. Gentile, Adam S. Hobson, and Jacob R. Fiddelman are in charge of the prosecution.

 

On Dec. 27, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) took steps to close the ‘ghost gun’ loophole by issuing an open letter to assist the firearms industry and the public in understanding whether certain semiautomatic, striker-fired pistols (sometimes referred to as “Glock-type” pistols) have reached a stage of manufacture such that they “may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted” to a functional frame, and are therefore classified as “frames” or “firearms” in accordance with the final rule titled definition of ‘frame or receiver’ and identification of firearms (Final Rule 2021R-05F) in the law which became effective August 24, 2022.

 

In response, on Dec. 28, New York City Mayor Eric Adams released the following statement. “The numbers don’t lie; the proliferation of ghost guns in New York City and in big cities across the nation is the fastest-growing, gun safety problem facing our country,” the mayor said. “This year alone, the NYPD has recovered more than 430 ghost guns, the highest number in city history, and a staggering 2,400-percent increase from the 17 recovered in 2018.”

 

He continued, “Our administration has taken aggressive action against ghost gun manufacturers, but the existing loophole that enables vendors to sell near-complete frames and receivers that are easily converted into operational and untraceable firearms is substantially undermining our efforts, taking lives, and helping criminals avoid prosecution.”

 

Adams said he applauded the Biden-Harris administration, and ATF specifically, for taking what he said was a commonsense step to regulating the sale of deadly weapons, and closing a longstanding loophole that he said has contributed to the increase in violent crime across the country. “We know that nothing can bring back the victims of gun violence, but this action will help spare more families the heartbreak of losing a loved one to these deadly and untraceable weapons,” he said.

 

Earlier this year, Adams spoke with ATF director, Steven Dettelbach, about closing the ghost gun loophole. This past summer, the City of New York filed a lawsuit against five companies that were unlawfully selling ghost gun kits to New Yorkers. Four of the companies agreed to stop the unlawful behavior, while the courts issued a preliminary injunction to stop the last company’s illegal behavior.