Key Takeaways
- New York State Police investigated Albany resident Demetrio Daga after monitoring his eBay purchases of firearm components including springs and pins.
- A jury convicted Daga in September on 15 state weapons counts, all possession charges, following a seven-day trial.
- Daga had no prior arrests, and prosecutors did not charge him with manufacturing firearms despite making that accusation in closing arguments.
- The Albany County Probation Department recommended probation rather than jail time, though Daga technically faces decades in prison.
- County Court Judge Andra Ackerman postponed sentencing from October to November 30 without publicly stating a reason.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
ALBANY, NY — Demetrio Daga had never once been arrested before New York State Police started watching what he bought on eBay, according to the Second Amendment Foundation. In September, a jury convicted the Albany father of two on 15 state weapons counts after a seven-day trial. He now sits in the Albany County jail waiting for a Nov. 30 sentencing.
The account comes from reporting by Lee Williams published by SAF. According to SAF, the New York State Police investigated the case alone, with no other local, state, or federal agency involved. Investigators focused on Daga because they were monitoring eBay purchases by New York residents. They saw him buying firearm components such as springs, pins, and what SAF describes as other legal gun parts.
Look at how this case began. It did not begin with a shooting or a threat. SAF reports Daga was never accused of misusing a firearm. It began with state investigators reading online orders for small parts.
The verdict, as SAF lays it out, covers:
- One count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the First Degree
- Two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree
- Three counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree
- Nine counts of Criminal Possession of a Firearm
Every one of those is a possession count. SAF reports Daga was not charged with or convicted of making firearms. The prosecutor still made that accusation in front of the jury.
“Demetrio Daga was buying and producing gun parts and building weapons in his home,” Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney Jessica Blain-Lewis told jurors in closing arguments, according to SAF. “And he wasn’t just someone who builds guns, he was building an arsenal.”
The jury heard that. It did not have a manufacturing charge in front of it.
If you live in New York or carry there, this case shows the parts side of the hobby is not a gray area the state ignores. According to SAF, state police were watching eBay orders from New York residents. Part of a serious mindset is knowing exactly where your state draws its lines before you click buy, not after. My New York concealed carry laws page covers the permit side. Possession and parts statutes are their own minefield.
Sentencing has already slipped once. SAF reports Daga was supposed to be sentenced in October. County Court Judge Andra Ackerman, who oversaw the trial, pushed it to Nov. 30 without saying why. Daga suspects the judge wants a new pre-sentence investigation report, the background workup a probation department prepares to recommend a sentence. Per SAF, the first report, from the Albany County Probation Department, recommended no jail time, only probation. Daga is technically facing decades behind bars.
Probation on one side. Decades on the other. That is the range one judge will choose from on Nov. 30.
Daga told SAF the hardest part is his two young boys. His son Dimitri just turned eight while his father sat in jail. Daga said he has been there before, from the other side.
“When I turned eight, I got a letter from my father from the very facility I am now in,” Daga said. His father was jailed on drug charges at the time, and Daga never heard from him after that letter. “Now, I’m here in some twisted nightmare and my son is in the same situation I was in. It’s a punch in the gut.”
“So far, I’ve missed Dimitri’s birthday. I’m going to miss my wife’s birthday. I’m going to miss Christmas,” he said. “I try and call them every day. My oldest son keeps asking when he’s going to see me.”
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A jury has decided guilt, and Judge Ackerman will decide the sentence. The court record itself was not available to me, so the account here rests on SAF’s reporting, and SAF is a gun rights organization, not a neutral record of the case.
I will continue tracking Daga’s case through his Nov. 30 sentencing.
