Mount Vernon Man Gets 12 Years For Loaded Semi-Automatic 'Ghost Gun'

MOUNT VERNON, NY — An illegal gun will cost a Mount Vernon man dearly.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced on Friday that a Mount Vernon man was sentenced to 12 years in state prison for the illegal possession of a loaded ghost gun.

"This outcome demonstrates our commitment to removing dangerous weapons from our communities, to prevent gun violence and our promise to vigorously prosecute those who illegally possess firearms," Rocah said.

After a two-week trial in September, a jury found 43-year-old Robert Culton guilty of felony second degree criminal possession of a weapon and felony third degree criminal possession of a weapon. He will also be subject to five years of post-release supervision.

On Aug. 15, 2021, around 5:15 p.m., Culton was in possession of an un-serialized loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol (ghost gun), on South 1st Ave. in Mount Vernon.

The Mount Vernon Police Department responded to the area after being notified by the Westchester County Department of Public Safety’s Real Time Crime Center of possible gunshots near South 1st Ave. and East 3rd St.

While investigating, police found the ghost gun in a nearby backyard and arrested Colton later that evening at Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital.

Police were able to use DNA forensics and surveillance video footage to link Culton to the recovered firearm. He did not have a permit to legally purchase or possess firearms in New York.

The case was before Judge Robert Prisco in Westchester County Court and prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Marissa Morra-Wynn and Leigh Wellington, both of the Trials and Investigations Division.