Guerrero
charged with felony; facing jail time
Presently being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal
Court; if convicted, he faces up to four years in
prison
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.