New York Delays Sentencing for Gun Owner Facing 40 Years Over Homemade Firearms
Demetrio Daga remains in the Albany County Correctional Facility because the Albany County Probation Department has ordered a new presentence report (PSR). A sentencing hearing that had been set for late October is now scheduled for November 30 while probation prepares the revised document. No reason has been given for discarding the earlier report. Until the new PSR is finished, Daga, a 44-year-old Albany husband and father of two, remains in jail.
The PSR is the report that normally informs a judge’s sentencing decision. It reviews the defendant’s background, criminal history, family circumstances, employment, and the probation officer’s recommendation on whether incarceration is warranted. In Daga’s case, the previous version of that report recommended probation with no additional jail time. County Court Judge Andra Ackerman has indicated she may decline to follow that recommendation and could instead impose a lengthy prison sentence.
The decision to scrap the existing PSR and start over is therefore the immediate reason Daga remains in custody.
Daga was convicted in late August 2026 on all 15 felony counts after a seven-day trial. The charges, one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the first degree, two in the second degree, three in the third degree, and nine counts of criminal possession of a firearm, stem solely from New York’s ban on unserialized, privately manufactured firearms. Investigators seized 3D printers, unserialized handguns and AR-style rifles, serialized rifles, shotguns, frames, receivers, magazines, and ammunition from two residences linked to him.
Prosecutors presented no evidence that he used any of the firearms in a crime, sold them, or harmed anyone. He has no prior criminal record. At the pretrial stage, prosecutors offered eight years; Daga rejected the deal.
Adamiak Calls Out the Sentencing Delay
The last-minute PSR redo has drawn public criticism for extending custody with little explanation. Tate Adamiak, who spoke with Daga after the postponement, described the development as infuriating and noted that the government used the same last-minute maneuver in his own case. Families take time off work, arrange travel, and prepare for a hearing that could determine years of a person’s life, only to see the date pushed back with little notice. For Daga, that means more time in county jail, away from his wife and children.
Adamiak wrote that the process itself becomes the punishment. Those responsible for the delay go home to their families every night, while Daga does not. The absence of any stated reason for reopening the report only heightens the sense that the calendar is being used to prolong the consequences of a conviction based solely on regulatory violations.
I spoke with Demetrio Daga, and the news is infuriating.
His hearing next week has been POSTPONED until November 30th. Apparently, they want to redo his presentence report.
The government pulled this EXACT same crap on me.
They wait until the last minute, after families have taken time off work, purchased plane tickets, booked hotels, and mentally prepared for a hearing that could change their lives.
Then, with the stroke of a pen, it’s all pushed back.
For Demetrio, that means even more time trapped inside Albany County Correctional Facility, away from his wife and family.
No urgency. No accountability. No consideration for the families bearing the consequences.
THE PROCESS IS THE PUNISHMENT.
Meanwhile, the people responsible for these delays get to go home to their families every night.
Demetrio doesn’t have that luxury.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
— Tate Adamiak (@TateAdamiak) October 23, 2026
New York’s War on Homemade Firearms Keeps a Father Behind Bars
Defense attorney Kevin O’Brien has said the original probation assessment came after reviewing the charges, interviewing Daga, and examining the court file. That assessment concluded a man with no criminal history who harmed no one should not go to prison. The decision to redo the report without a stated reason reopens that evaluation, even though the only remaining issue is the sentence.
Each additional week in the Albany County Correctional Facility is time away from his family under conditions that are often harsher than those in state prison. The delay also means Daga is likely to miss Thanksgiving with his wife and two young children.
Other cases also see last-minute orders to redo or revise presentence reports. Courts and probation departments sometimes reopen the process after a draft is prepared, citing the need for additional investigation, unresolved objections, or updated information. These steps can push sentencing dates by weeks or months even when the underlying conviction is settled. Because the defendant is often held in custody during the interval, the practical result is extended confinement while the report is rewritten.
Defense lawyers have noted that probation officers’ and judges’ discretion over timing and content makes these delays hard to challenge in real time, leaving families to absorb repeated disruptions long before a final sentence is imposed.
New York is one of the few states that treat private firearm manufacturing and possession as serious felonies. In most of the country, the same activity would not have been a crime.
The November 30 hearing will determine whether the court follows the earlier no-jail recommendation or imposes a far heavier sentence. Until the new PSR is completed, however, Daga remains in county jail, and the case stays unresolved.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and constitutional activist with more than 26 years of experience in networking and cybersecurity for major Fortune 100 companies. John has written about firearms, the Constitution, and cybersecurity, and has interviewed people from all walks of life. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons. Follow him on X at @right2bear, or at www.crumpy.com.