A New York man said to be a gun collector was arrested after police found a stockpile of weapons and ammunition in his home last week.
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NYPD Gun Bust
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown says the NYPD executed a search warrant on a home in the Queens Village neighborhood of Queens on April 26. Upon entering the home, they discovered 11 rifles, three shotguns, a crossbow, a trench knife, 11,000 rounds of ammunition and $13,000 in cash. Included among the cache were a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun; Crosman GI Extreme air rifle; “banana ammo clip containing 25 caliber rounds” and a “Ruger Model 30” rifle.
“The defendant is accused of stockpiling an arsenal of deadly weapons in his home along with an enormous amount of ammunition. Illegal firearms pose an extreme risk to the public and in Queens County creating your own warehouse of lethal shotguns and rifles will not be tolerated,” Brown said.
The NYPD arrested 44-year-old Keith Harvey and charged him with four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon; 21 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon; four counts of criminal possession of a firearm, firearms; unlawful possession of pistol or revolver ammunition; and 14 counts of possession of rifles and shotguns without a permit. His bail has been set at $150,000. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Other Arrests
Harvey’s friend and neighbor, Joe Russo, told the New York Daily News that Harvey is no criminal.
“These allegations are insane,” he said. “He is a gun collector. His father was one too. He gave him the guns. It’s amazing what some people will come up with. He’s a hardworking man who has never been in trouble.”
Harvey’s arrest comes on the heels of a pair of other New York gun busts. On April 16, police arrested 60-year-old Ronald Drabman, another Queens man who was found to have 70 firearms and over 50,000 rounds of ammunition in his basement. The day before Drabman’s arrest, police on Long Island arrested 32-year-old Robert Czar after they found 19 long guns, night vision goggles, hundreds of “high capacity” magazines, gas masks, and bulletproof vests in his apartment.
