Covered plate leads to weapons seizure: NYPD |

The man who was arrested early Wednesday morning for allegedly having a cache of weapons in his car was arrested after sharp-eyed police officers from the 110th Precinct saw he was driving with a blacked-out license plate, according to the department head Jeffrey Maddrey.

Speaking at a news conference posted on the department's X-wire, Maddrey said the man identified as Judd Sanson gave an address on Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica. The name and address, Maddrey said, are still under investigation by the NYPD Detective Bureau and Intelligence Unit.

Police said he was charged with criminal possession of a loaded firearm, criminal possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of an ammunition feeding device and possession of a tag. hidden registration.

Maddrey said the location, near 86th Street and Ditmars Boulevard in East Elmhurst, was a block from where two 115th Precinct police officers were shot June 3. A 19-year-old resident of an immigrant shelter has been charged. this shooting.

“Members of the public security team from the 110th precinct, made up of a sergeant and three uniformed officers in an unmarked car were patrolling the area,” Maddrey said. “They were out late at night tackling flying conditions, issues involving mopeds and vehicles, as their brothers in the 115th Precinct were doing on June 3.”

Maddrey said he noticed a black Ford Explorer with blackened plates.

“You couldn’t even see the license plate, the cover was so dark,” he said. “Our officers stopped the vehicle based on that.”

The ensuing investigation allegedly uncovered a Glock 9mm handgun, nine loaded magazines, body armor, handcuffs, several knives, a stun gun, two axes, a weighted whip and an extendable baton.

Police also allegedly found NYPD uniform items and an orange Metropolitan Transportation Authority work vest.

“Members of this department make weapons arrests, knife arrests every day,” Maddrey said. “But for arrests of this magnitude, the amount of ammunition and NYPD paraphernalia in the car was significant. We wanted to make sure we informed the community as well as the press.

Kaz Daughtry, assistant commissioner for operations, said they were still looking for a motive.

“An obstructed license plate – a ghost car. You have to ask yourself what his intention was before you got into his vehicle,” Daughtry said. He said the New York Police Department has seized 683 ghost cars this year and 2,875 more for paper or improper plates.

“When you hide your license plate, you are driving, what is your intention? To avoid a tariff? Sometimes it is.”

But he added that these vehicles, sometimes stolen, are increasingly used to commit violent crimes.