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Queens man charged for packing apartment with weapons, ammunition – Metro US

Queens man charged for packing apartment with weapons, ammunition

Queens man charged for packing apartment with weapons, ammunition
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A Queens man has been charged for recklessly creating a threat to public safety after stockpiling a collection of weapons — including over 200 pounds of gunpowder and thousands of rounds of ammunition — inside his one-bedroom apartment.

Guo H. Shou, 33, of Rego Park was arraigned Tuesday night in Queens Criminal Court on charges of first-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

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According to prosecutors, on Feb. 8 members of the NYPD’s Licensing Division and Organized Crime Investigation Division Task Force conducted an administrative pistol licensee review at Shou’s home on Wetherole Street.

During the visit, authorities allegedly found hundreds of pounds of smokeless gunpowder, an assault rifle and high-capacity magazines and ammunition laying in plain sight.

A court-authorized search warrant was then executed at the home where officers found the following: 14 licensed handguns not properly secured; two loaded license shotguns which also had no safety lock devices on them; one licensed rifle; about 45,000 rounds of ammunition for various weapons; 225 pounds of smokeless gun powder stored in different containers and open to view; unassembled lower and upper parts for AR-10 and AR-15 assault riffles — which could be assembled to complete a rifle in about one minute each; and three high-capacity magazines.

Authorities also discovered two body armor vests, six armor plates, one ammunition press; various primers, empty cartridges; and five computers.

Shou does not have a federal firearms license as a gun dealer and is not licensed to sell or manufacture firearms or ammunition, according to prosecutors.

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“It is extremely disturbing to find such a lethal arsenal of this magnitude in a residential community – especially one less than two blocks from an elementary school,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.

“Alone, the amount of gunpowder discovered was capable of igniting and causing significant damage to not only the defendant’s apartment but to neighboring apartments and the building’s exterior walls, as well as injuring or killing anyone unfortunate enough to be in the vicinity.”

Bail for Shou was set at $250,000 and he is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 24. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.