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Investigators uncovered the arsenal in Shou’s Wetherole Street apartment in February.
By Forum Staff
A routine check by New York City Police Department’s Licensing Division and Organized Crime Investigation Division Task Force while conducting an administrative pistol license did not end well for one Rego Park man.
Guo H. Shou, 34, of 65-60 Wetherole Street in Rego Park will now spend time in prison after it was discovered that he wad more than 225 pounds of gunpowder and an assortment of unsecured weapons – including handguns, shotguns and assault rifles – and more than 45,000 rounds of multi-caliber ammunition in his one-bedroom apartment. Shou has pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and will be sentenced.
According to District Attorney Brown, Shou admitted that the items were his and will be incarcerated as punishment for stockpiling an arsenal of unsecured weapons – just a few short blocks from an elementary school.
“The amount of gunpowder recovered in the defendant’s apartment alone 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,” said District Attorney Richard Brown.
The defendant pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and according to court sources will likely be sentenced to two years in prison, followed by two years’ of post-release supervision, on December 7, 2016. According to the criminal complaint, when the review was conducted at Shou’s home, officers observed hundreds of pounds of smokeless gunpowder, an assault rifle and high-capacity magazines and ammunition laying in plain sight.
A court-authorized search warrant drafted by District Attorney Brown’s Computer Crime Unit was then executed at Shou’s residence.
Law enforcement seized 14 licensed handguns, two loaded shotguns, a licensed rifle that lacked any safety lock devices, 45,000 rounds of ammunition, 225 pounds of smokeless gun powder, unassembled assault rifles, high-capacity ammo magazines, an ammunition press and other items.
According to the charges, Shou did not have a federal firearms license as a gun dealer and is not licensed to sell or manufacture firearms or ammunition.
None of the items seized will be returned to the defendant.
