A 26-year-old man was charged this week in a ghost gun shooting that injured a Los Angeles Police Department officer south of downtown Los Angeles.
Ernesto Sepulveda faces two counts of premeditated attempted murder of a police officer and a felony count of carrying an unregistered loaded handgun. Sepulveda is accused of using a ghost gun, a weapon typically hand assembled that doesn’t have a serial number by which it can be identified, in the July 5 shooting near 39th and Western Avenue in Exposition Park.
If convicted, Sepulveda could face 75 years to life in state prison. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Wednesday.
Officers encountered Sepulveda, riding a bicycle, after seeing what they believed to be a gun in his pocket, prosecutors said. He pulled out the gun and opened fire, striking one officer in the leg, according to authorities.
Two other officers chased after Sepulveda and eventually took him into custody.
Bail was set at $3 million. The next court hearing is scheduled for July 22.
The weapon was recovered at the scene.
Do-it-yourself ghost gun kits have been around since the 1990s, but have grown in popularity in recent years. Between Jan. 2016 to Dec. 2021, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it received approximately 45,000 reports of suspected privately made firearms recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations, including 692 homicides or attempted homicides.
The number of ghost guns recovered rose during those years from 1,758 in 2016 to 19,344 in 2021, according to the Justice Department. Without a serial number, the guns are difficult to trace.