Possessing Firearms with Defaced Serial Numbers: NYC Penalties

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation criminal defense firm managed by Todd Spodek, with over 50 years of combined experience defending firearms cases throughout New York. Police find a gun with a filed-off, scratched-out, or otherwise altered serial number? Your facing serious felony charges – both state and potentially federal. New York Penal Law § 265.02 makes it criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree to possess any firearm with a removed, defaced, or altered serial number. That’s a class D felony carrying 2-7 years. Federal law adds another layer – 18 U.S.C. § 922(k) makes it illegal to possess, receive, or transfer any firearm with an obliterated serial number. Up to 5 years federal time. Prosecutors charge these cases aggressively because defaced serial numbers indicate the gun’s been used in crimes and trafficked through illegal channels.

Why Serial Numbers Matter

Every commercially manufactured firearm has a serial number stamped on the frame or receiver. These numbers serve critical law enforcement functions.

Tracing Crime Guns

When police recover a firearm at a crime scene, they submit it to ATF’s National Tracing Center. ATF uses the serial number to trace the gun from manufacturer to first retail sale – identifying which dealer sold it and who purchased it. A gun with a defaced serial cant be traced. That’s why people deface them – to prevent tracing back to the original purchaser or linking to previous crimes.

Linking Guns to Multiple Crimes

Serial numbers connect one firearm to multiple criminal incidents. Gun recovered at a Manhattan shooting has the same serial as a gun used in a Brooklyn robbery? That links the cases. Defacing the serial breaks that chain.

New York Law: PL § 265.02

PL § 265.02(4) makes it a crime to possess “any firearm… which has been defaced for the purpose of concealment or prevention of the detection of a crime.”

Class D felony – 2 to 7 years. The statute doesn’t require you to be the person who defaced the serial. Possessing a gun someone else defaced is enough.

What “Defaced” Means

Defaced means removed, obliterated, altered, or covered in a way that makes the serial illegible or difficult to read. Filing it off, grinding it down, scratching it out, stamping over it, covering it with metal or polymer – all qualify.

Partial defacement counts. If enough of the serial is removed or altered that it cant be fully read, that’s defacement. You dont need to obliterate every digit.

The “Purpose” Element

The statute requires the defacement be “for the purpose of concealment.” Prosecutors must prove someone defaced the number for that purpose – but they dont need to prove YOU did it. If you possess a gun with a defaced serial, prosecutors presume it was defaced for illegal purposes.

I’ve defended cases where clients argued they didnt know why the serial was defaced. That doesn’t help – possessing it is the crime, regardless of who defaced it or why.

Federal Law: 18 U.S.C. § 922(k)

18 U.S.C. § 922(k) makes it unlawful to “receive or possess a firearm which has had the importer’s or manufacturer’s serial number removed, obliterated, or altered.”

Penalty: Up to 5 years in federal prison, up to $250,000 fine. The statute also prohibits shipping, transporting, or receiving such firearms in interstate commerce.

No Intent Requirement

Unlike NY law, federal law doesnt require proving the defacement was for any particular purpose. Simply possessing a gun with an obliterated serial violates § 922(k). You don’t need to have defaced it yourself. Possession is enough.

When Cases Go Federal vs. State

Prosecutors decide which system to use based on several factors. If the gun was involved in drug trafficking, violent crime, or interstate trafficking, federal prosecutors take it. If it’s a simple possession case without aggravating factors, it stays state. Federal sentences tend to be longer, especially with enhancements or criminal history.

What Counts as Obliterated?

Courts interpret “obliterated” broadly – doesn’t require complete removal. Filing, grinding, drilling, or sanding down the serial number counts. Even if some digits remain partially visible, if the full number cant be read, that’s obliteration.

Chemical alteration works too – using acid to dissolve or obscure the serial. Welding over it, applying polymer or epoxy to cover it, stamping new metal over it. Any method making the number illegible counts.

Law enforcement can sometimes restore defaced serials using chemical etching. Even if police successfully restore the number, you still violated the statute by possessing the gun while the number was defaced.

Common Scenarios Leading to Charges

You purchase a handgun on the street for $300. Police later recover it during a traffic stop and discover the serial number filed off. You get charged even though you didnt deface it yourself.

You find a gun in your deceased relative’s belongings. The serial number is covered or filed off. Police execute a search warrant and find it. Your charged – doesnt matter that you didnt deface it or inherited it.

You buy a gun from an acquaintance with paperwork claiming its legal. You dont inspect the serial area closely. Police discover it’s defaced. You face charges even though you didnt know.

Defenses to Defaced Serial Number Charges

Lack of Knowledge

You didnt know the serial was defaced. Maybe the defacement was subtle. Maybe you never inspected that part. Without knowledge, the mens rea element might fail – tough defense because courts often infer knowledge from possession.

Challenge to “Defaced” Determination

Is the serial really defaced, or just worn from age? We bring experts who examine the firearm and testify about whether the alteration was intentional defacement versus natural wear. If still partially legible with natural wear, that undermines the charge.

You Didn’t Possess the Firearm

The gun was in a shared space – roommate’s closet, common area, vehicle you were riding in. If you didnt have dominion and control, you didn’t possess it. Constructive possession defense.

Unlawful Search and Seizure

How did police find the gun? Did they have a warrant? Was the search consensual? If police violated Fourth Amendment, we file suppression motions. Without the gun, there’s no case.

Sentencing for Defaced Serial Number Offenses

State charges under PL § 265.02 carry 2-7 years for a class D felony. No prior record? Your likely looking at the lower end – 2-3 years. Prior felony convictions? Expect the higher end or more.

Federal charges under § 922(k) carry up to 5 years. Federal sentencing guidelines start at offense level 12 (10-16 months for someone with no criminal history). But enhancements apply – if you’re a prohibited person, if the gun was used in another crime, if you obstructed justice. Enhancements can push the guideline range to 3-5 years or more.

What Spodek Law Group Does

We immediately challenge how police discovered the firearm. Was the search lawful? Did they have a warrant? Did you consent? If police violated Fourth Amendment rights, we file motions to suppress.

We bring firearms examiners who inspect the gun and testify about serial number condition. Is it actually defaced, or natural wear? Can it be partially read? If the serial isn’t completely obliterated and alteration appears unintentional, we challenge the defacement element.

For knowledge-based defenses, we investigate when and how you acquired the gun. Did you purchase it from someone who represented it as legitimate? Did you inherit it and never inspected it closely? We present evidence showing you had no knowledge the serial was defaced.

We negotiate aggressively. If the defacement is minor or circumstances show you weren’t involved in trafficking, we push for reduced charges. The difference between a felony conviction and a lesser charge is significant for employment and gun rights.

At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended defaced serial number cases from simple possession to trafficking operations. You can reach us 24/7 at our offices throughout NYC and Long Island. When prosecutors charge you, your defense matters.