Pennsylvania man faces two new felonies after 7th recovered gun found in New Jersey
Benjamin Ford, 44, is accused of buying 205 handguns over 11 years, seven of which were found with serial numbers erased in three states.
By Tomas Gonzalez ·
The Pennsylvania Attorney General filed two new felony firearms charges against Benjamin Ford on October 21. The additional counts relate to a handgun purchased in Marshall that law enforcement recovered in New Jersey.
Ford, 44, is originally from New Jersey and is currently held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond. He is awaiting trial on six initial felony charges stemming from a March indictment. During an April preliminary hearing, a judge dismissed three of the original counts, leaving the remaining six active. A status hearing for those initial charges is set for February 22.
A criminal complaint filed by a special agent with the Allegheny County Gun Violence Task Force details Ford's purchasing history. Records show he bought 205 handguns in Pennsylvania over an 11-year period. Law enforcement in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York have recovered seven of those weapons. In each case, Ford was the last known buyer, and the individuals found in possession of the guns were not legally allowed to possess firearms. Crime laboratories restored the serial numbers on all seven recovered weapons because they had been obliterated.
The complaint notes that for 203 of the 205 handguns, there are no records of sales, transfers, or trades to another buyer after Ford purchased them. Ford did not report any of the recovered firearms as stolen. He claimed a home break-in led to the loss of a 9mm handgun found in Swissvale, but Ross police had no record of a theft report from his residence.
The new charges focus on a used Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 purchased on October 23, 2022, at Keystone Shooting Center in Marshall. This acquisition was Ford's roughly 160th handgun. Investigators noted he bought this firearm after three of his previous purchases had already been recovered by police. The weapon was found on a man in Newark, New Jersey, in March 2025. Ford signed state police paperwork certifying he was the actual buyer of that specific firearm.
When authorities searched Ford's home on March 26, the day of his initial arrest, none of the 205 firearms were present. After his arrest, investigators identified the Marshall-purchased gun as the seventh recovered weapon. Ford was deemed a threat to the community and denied bail when arraigned on the new charges on October 22. His attorney, Timothy Joseph Lyon, did not respond to a request for comment on October 26. A preliminary hearing on the new charges is scheduled for November 4 before District Judge Matthew J. Brungo.
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
