Police: Ghost guns found during traffic stop in West Haven

Ghost guns are typically made without a serial number, making it harder for law enforcement to trace their origin the way investigators can with weapons that are legally purchased or stolen.

WEST HAVEN — Police say they arrested four people in a car last Friday after the driver and one of the passengers were each found with ghost guns.

Police identified the driver as Bridgeport resident Chamon Highsmith. He was charged with alteration of a firearm, possession of a high-capacity magazine, carrying a pistol without a permit and weapon in a motor vehicle, after police said he was found with a 9 mm Polymer 80 ghost gun loaded with 15 rounds.

Highsmith is also facing “several motor vehicle charges,” West Haven police said in a news release.

A back-seat passenger, Stratford resident Jerrod Leak, was also carrying a 9 mm Polymer 80 ghost gun, police said. That weapon was loaded with 11 rounds, police said.

Leak was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of ammunition, alteration of a firearm, possession of a high-capacity magazine and carrying a pistol without a permit. He was also charged with violation of a protective order.

Assembled from kits sold online or built using a 3D printer, ghost guns are typically made without a serial number, making it harder for law enforcement to trace their origin the way investigators can with weapons that are legally purchased or stolen. Once a niche pursuit for firearms enthusiasts, the weapons’ use in crimes has become prolific. One report by the ATF found that between 2016 and 2021, the number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement agencies went up by 1,000 percent.

Connecticut legislators passed a law restricting ghost guns in the state in 2019. The law requires people who build a gun at home legally to obtain a serial number through the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

West Haven police said the incident began when members of the department’s Street Crime Unit were near Meloy Road and Claudia Drive and “observed a white Subaru engaging in what they believed to be suspicious activity.”

Bridgeport resident Danaja Edmonds and New Milford resident Jenna Havas, two women riding in the Subaru, were charged with resisting arrest.

Police did not provide the ages for the four people charged in the incident.

Edmonds, whose name spelling was also given as “Edmunds,” and Havas were both charged with interfering with a police officer.

Police said Edmonds “actively fought” with police and was forcibly removed from the car’s back seat. She was also wanted on a warrant out of New Milford, according to police.