By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
Orlando, Florida resident and Indie Guns owner Lawrence Michael DeStefano wants his 50,000 New York customers to know he will never give up their names, even though New York State Attorney General Leticia James has threatened to put him in prison for more than 500 years if he doesn’t comply immediately and furnish their personal information and purchase history.
As we first reported last week, DeStefano has been held in Florida’s Orange County Jail for nearly 90 days. He could be taken to New York’s infamous Rikers Island any day.
“I will never tell Letitia James who bought my guns,” DeStefano said Sunday night from the Orange County jail. “I care about my customers. They should know I will never turn over their customer data. That’s why James went criminal, but I will never give them up. They are law abiding citizens and do not need to worry.”
DeStefano’s firm Indie Guns was one of 10 self-built arms dealers James targeted because they allegedly shipped gun parts kits to New York. The other nine firms handed over their customer data to James, DeStefano said, but he refused. Instead, he decided to fight James and her unconstitutional out-of-state requests.
Two New York State detectives accompanied ATF agents in October, when they executed search warrants of DeStefano’s home and rental properties. The ATF agents seized 68 items from DeStefano’s home—including $500,0000 worth of gold Krugerrands and $110,000 in cash—but took thousands of gun-parts kits from his rental properties. More than 100 typed pages were needed to list all of the items seized from DeStefano. Most were Polymer 80 kits.
DeStefano has sold his “self-built arms” kits to customers in all 50 states, but New York is the only state where he ever encountered legal problems.
On Nov. 12, 2025, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a letter and sent it to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, charging DeStefano with 71 state crimes, which total 521 years behind bars.
They included:
- 1 count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree
- 2 counts of Sale of a Criminal Firearm in the First Degree
- 39 counts of Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree
- 28 counts of Manufacture, Transport, Disposition and Defacement of Weapons and Dangerous Appliances
- 1 count of Criminal Sale of a Frame or Receiver in the Second Degree
On Dec. 5, 2025, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded with a letter sent to all Florida Sheriffs and other peace officers in the state, commanding them to arrest DeStefano, who was already in custody.
DeSantis did not respond to calls or emails seeking to know why he ordered DeStefano’s arrest.
This is certainly not the first time DeStefano and James have battled publicly.
After James won a $7.8 million civil lawsuit against him—DeStefano did not go to New York for the case—he expressed his outrage over social media.
“I had around 15,000 followers on Instagram, but a few days after my posts I had a quarter-million followers,” DeStefano said. “They quickly shut down my Instagram account.”
He expects to be extradited to New York within the coming days, but he is more concerned about his customers, who he said may be worrying about what will happen next.
Said DeStefano: “I care about my customers. They do not need to worry. Gun privacy to me is sacrosanct, just like confession. Please tell all of my 50,000 customers in New York that they don’t have to hide anything. Please reassure them that they do not have to be scared. I will die in jail before I ever give them up.”
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