Guerrero facing four felonies
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced
that current WBC welterweight champion Robert Guerrero has
been arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport and
charged with illegally traveling with an unloaded pistol and
three unloaded high capacity bullet magazines.
The weapon and 15-bullet clips were discovered during a
routine pre-flight check-in this morning. District Attorney
Brown said, “I hope that Mr. Guerrero fights better than he
thinks. For anyone who hasn’t gotten the message, let me be
crystal clear. You cannot bring an unlicensed weapon – loaded
or unloaded – into this county or this city. And if you do you
will be arrested and face felony charges.”
The District Attorney continued, “Earlier this year, New York
State enacted the nation’s
toughest gun restrictions – the New York Secure Ammunition
and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013 (NY SAFE ACT). One
provision of that law is that the penalty for possessing an
unloaded firearm is raised from being a Class A misdemeanor
to being a Class E felony. It is therefore more important than
ever that if a passenger chooses to travel with a weapon, they
should first acquaint themselves with the weapon laws of the
jurisdiction that they are visiting and comply with any and all
legal requirements. Otherwise, they may find themselves being
arrested and charged with a felony – as is what occurred in
this case.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Robert J.
Guerrero, 30, of Gilroy, California. Guerrero is presently being
held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on a
criminal complaint charging him with one count of criminal
possession of a firearm and three counts of third-degree
criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted, he faces up to
four years in prison.
District Attorney Brown said that, according to the charges,
Guerrero presented a locked gun box to a Delta Airlines ticket
agent at about 6:46 a.m. this morning, March 28, 2013, during
checkin.
It is alleged that the box contained an unloaded Smith and
Wesson M&P 40 caliber handgun and three unloaded
magazines with the capacity to hold 15 rounds of ammunition.
Guerrero allegedly told authorities that he possessed the
unloaded firearm when he arrived in New York City from
Virginia on Monday, March 25, 2013, and that he has been in
New York since that date.
The investigation was conducted by the Port Authority Police
Department. The case is being prosecuted by the District
Attorney’s Kew Gardens I Bureau, which is under the
supervision of Assistant District Attorney Francesco
Catarisano, Bureau Chief, and the
overall supervision of Senior Executive Assistant District
Attorney of the Trial Division James C. Quinn.
It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an
accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.