By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
Start-up gun manufacturer Matrix Arms has been busy this year. The Claremont company sold its Winter Street armory building to a church in February, and owner Allen Farris announced two new partners were coming on board in July.
Behind the scenes, though, Matrix is facing a serious legal crisis. The company is named as one of several defendants in the lawsuit brought by the family of Sacramento, California Police Officer Tara O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan, 26, was killed in 2019 when Adel Sambrano Ramos reportedly opened fire with a high-powered rifle. O’Sullivan had been on the job for six months and was weeks away from finishing her field training. She and four other officers were responding to a reported domestic violence incident in which the alleged abuser, Ramos, was armed.
“A couple of things are clear by the facts that we know at this point. The officers were essentially ambushed by the suspect and the result was him murdering one of our community’s police officers,” said Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn after the shooting.
According to reports, Ramos was armed with two rifles, a shotgun, and a handgun as he repeatedly fired on police during a four-hour stand off. Ramos has since been found guilty and sentenced to death by a jury.
The lawsuit filed by O’Sullivan’s parents, Kelley and Denis O’Sullivan, in the Sacramento Superior Court accuses Matrix and several other manufacturers of selling gun parts and gun kits by mail to people who should not have guns.
“[Defendants] knew when they entered this business that they would be supplying firearms to those who would not be allowed to purchase firearms from [a federally licensed firearms dealer,] including criminals, violent persons, and other individuals whose possession of firearms pose an unacceptably high threat of injury or death to members of the public,” the lawsuit states.
Ramos’ criminal history includes domestic violence convictions, assault, and driving under the influence. He’s also been subject to numerous restraining orders.
Matrix makes and sells complete semi-automatic pistols and rifles as well as rifle and handgun parts, including rifle lowers that can be used to build complete guns using readily available parts. Farris did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Tuesday.
In February, Farris sold the Winter Street building to Riverbank Church. The terms of that sale were not disclosed, and Farris told the Valley News his company was relocating to a yet to be determined facility.
Last month, Farris announced on social media that Matrix was taking on two new minority partners. Farris said in a statement that he sold a stake in the business to Zak Prevost and Allen Gearhart, but that he would retain control over Matrix.
“I feel there is no better partners we could have found, and the values and integrity Allen and Zak bring align perfectly with the values of our own. They’ve believed in our products for years, and now they’re investing in our future,” Farris said in the statement. “We are excited for what the future holds and are eager to continue fighting for Liberty, honoring God, and making the best pistols in the world. We have had a hard time keeping up with demand over the last year, and this partnership is exactly what the brand needed to successfully transition into this next level of business.”
The O’Sullivan lawsuit was first filed in 2021, but has been held up as the parties waited for the criminal case against Ramos to conclude. After pleading guilty last year, Ramos still went on trial for the sentencing as prosecutors sought the death penalty. That death penalty verdict was reached in June, clearing the path for the O’Sullivan’s lawsuit to move forward.
The evidence in Tara O’Sullivan’s murder shows that Ramos was armed with guns he assembled from parts likely bought online, but there is no direct link to Matrix or any of the other named defendants, according to a joint case management filing made Aug. 14.
“Plaintiffs seek to hold numerous manufacturers, distributors and retailers of unfinished lower receivers – which were legal to manufacture and sell – liable for the criminal misuse of their products by a third party. Plaintiffs, however, concede that they do not know which, if any, of the defendants named in this action manufactured the parts used by the shooter to assemble the firearms,” the defense states in the case management document.
Kelley and Denis O’Sullivan instead plan to hold Matrix and the other companies liable for all gun makers who sell weapons in a similar manner under a market share liability legal theory.
“Market share liability allows a plaintiff to establish a prima facie case against a group of defendants for an injury caused by a harmful product when it cannot be determined from which defendant the product originated. Liability is apportioned according to each defendants’ respective market share of sales of that product when the harm occurred. It is appropriately applied here, to the extent that the very nature of Defendants’ ghost gun products renders them untraceable, and Defendants together comprise a substantial share of the ghost gun market,” the O’Sullivans state in the case management document.
The O’Sullivans are seeking a jury trial in the case, and both sides have agreed mediation is not an option at this time.