Kew Gardens man sentenced to prison for possessing arsenal of illegal firearms in his apartment: DA

A Kew Gardens retiree, who shot and killed a would-be robber near his home in May 2023, was sentenced to four years in prison on Jan. 14, not for the fatal shooting, but for the arsenal of illegal assault weapons and other unlicensed and unregistered firearms that were discovered in his apartment during the investigation, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Charles Foehner, 67, of 82nd Road, pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court on Nov. 20 to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. At the discretion of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Foehner was not charged for his role in the fatal shooting that occurred during the early morning hours of May 31, 2023.

According to the criminal complaint, Foehner was near the driveway to the parking garage of an apartment building at 123-20 82nd Ave. just after 2 a.m. when 32-year-old Cody Gonzalez of 82nd Road, approached him, pulled out a sharp object and lunged at Foehner in an attempt to rob him. Foehner pulled out a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver and fired at Gonzalez multiple times. Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill responded to a 911 call of a man shot in the driveway, where officers discovered Gonzalez lying in a pool of blood with gunshot wounds to his chest. EMS responded to the location and pronounced him dead at the scene.

Homicide detectives from the 102nd Precinct executed a court-authorized search warrant of Foehner’s residence on May 31, 2023, and a cache of illegal weapons, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and bulletproof vests were recovered, according to the criminal complaint.

Charles Foehner of Kew Gardens was sentenced to four years in prison for possessing a stockpile of illegal firearms, including assault weapons, that was found in his home during an investigation into the fatal shooting of his neighbor. Courtesy of the Queens DA’s office

The large cache of illegal and unlicensed firearms were discovered in Foehner's apartment when detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant after the fatal shooting. — The large cache of illegal and unlicensed firearms were discovered in Foehner’s apartment when detectives executed a court-authorized search warrant after the fatal shooting. Courtesy of the Queens DA’s office

“While investigating a May 2023 shooting incident, we found Charles Foehner in possession of 26 unlicensed and unregistered weapons, 13,000 rounds of ammunition and 152 large capacity feeding devices, 10 of which were loaded, inside the defendant’s home,” Katz said. “Four of the firearms were determined to be assault weapons and nearly all the illegal firearms were fully operational.”

Four assault weapons were among the 26 firearms recovered in Foehner's apartment along with 13, rounds of ammo, 152 large capacity feeding devices and bulletproof vests. — Four assault weapons were among the 26 firearms recovered in Foehner’s apartment along with 13, rounds of ammo, 152 large capacity feeding devices and bulletproof vests.

Foehner was arrested on charges of criminal possession of a weapon on June 1, 2023, at the 102nd Precinct. No criminal charges were filed in relation to the fatal shooting of Gonzalez. Queens Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino sentenced Foehner to four years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.

“This stockpile was not a collection of your grandfather’s harmless, inoperable, antique weapons,” Katz said. “This was an arsenal of lethal firearms and assault weapons possessed in full violation of New York State law.”