VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — An Escondido man faces a slew of charges after police say he turned his RV into an illegal gun lab. 20-year-old Jace Tornio pleaded not guilty at the Vista Courthouse Wednesday, accused of manufacturing guns and parts.
Police arrested Tornio during a traffic stop Friday night on E. El Norte Dr. near N. Broadway. During the stop, police say tornio jumped out of the car and tried to run away.
Police caught him and found a pistol with no serial number, also known as a ghost gun. The weapon had an illegal modification often called an 'auto sear' or a 'switch,' which makes handguns fully automatic.
The next day officers searched Tornio's home and found a makeshift factory with two 3D printers, tables full of gun parts, ammo and magazines.
The City of San Diego was one of the first around the state to ban ghost guns two years ago. The county followed suit last year. Law enforcement can't keep track of these guns since they're not registered.
Escondido police say they don't have the data to prove a rise in ghost guns. San Diego police say they found 383 of them last year. That's down from 545 in 2021, but still nearly double the number found in 2020.
So law enforcement calls it an unsettling trend.
Tornio is being held on $492,000 bail, facing a maximum of a decade in prison. He's due back in court April 28.
