In Fifth Gun Bust In Two Months, Cops Arrest Army Vet With Six Illegal Firearms

Police responded to a domestic violence complaint early Saturday morning and discovered that the alleged perpetrator possessed numerous illegal weapons — including an assault rifle.

On August 8, at approximately 12am, the 62nd Precinct received a tip from a third party that 40-year-old Maximilliano Emanuel Alverez, an Iraq war veteran who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, had allegedly assaulted and threatened his wife and that he owned multiple firearms, according to the NYPD.

Police say they entered Alverez’s home on 63rd Street between Bay Parkway and 23rd Avenue, and inquired about the weapons. Alverez directed officers to a safety-deposit box, which contained a Ruger LCR 357 Magnum revolver, a Glock 17 semiautomatic handgun, a Springfield XDM 40 pistol, a Ruger AR-15 assault rifle, a Winchester SXP shotgun, and several boxes of ammunition.

At 12:30am, Alverez was arrested without incident, and charged with assault, harassment, 11 counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and marijuana possession charges, cops said.

This is the fourth major weapons bust to occur within NYPD’s 62nd Precinct in the last two weeks. On July 30, police arrested a man and a woman in their 20s for possession of two loaded firearms. On August 6, cops nabbed two more men, ages 71 and 51, for hoarding a huge arsenal of weapons — including a submachine gun — and for possessing more than 40 glassines of heroin.

Two more guns were seized on the street from men who are affiliated with the Latin Kings, according to 62nd Precinct’s Commanding Officer Anthony Sanseverino.

“There’s been a great response in the last month or so. We’ve had three search warrants and five seizures,” said Sanseverino, including a triple arrest that occurred on June 26, during which officers seized a massive stockpile of guns, drugs, and machetes in a Gravesend home.

“I can’t take all the credit,” he added modestly. “We’ve been hitting the right places. You can attribute some of it to luck, and also to the relentless police work of guys from the 62 and the supporting units, who have been vigilantly trying to suppress crime in the area.”

On Sunday, July 26 — approximately two weeks ago — gunshots were reportedly fired on the corner of Bay Ridge Parkway and New Utrecht Avenue, striking a parked vehicle and a second-floor window. It is still unclear whether there is a connection between the dozens of recently seized firearms and last month’s shooting, according to Sanseverino.