A Queens man already in custody for bizarrely shooting at two cops in Jackson Heights while wearing a fake beard and dark glasses pleaded not guilty today to a host of weapons charges.
Antonio Olmeda, 54, was charged with illegally possessing a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun and .38-caliber revolver when cops apprehended him on December 2011. This was after he evaded authorities for two weeks but was ultimately caught once they were able match his DNA to the fake glasses he tossed at the crime scene.
Authorities also say they found five pistols and rifles at his home following the arrest and then later discovered that he had a secret weapons cache in a Yonkers storage unit he rented.
The cache included at least 15 handguns, shotguns and AR-15 rifles, and sources said Olmeda also had on-site city maps with Queens police precincts marked off, pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge and fake NYPD shields. It was unclear if he was planning a mass shooting.
Olmeda, who is currently in custody at Riker’s Island on the murder charges, appeared before a magistrate judge in Manhattan federal court on the weapons charges. He’d traded in the beard for a well-manicured mustache.
Olmeda was charged with both possessing unregistered weapons and possessing weapons despite being convicted of a crime punishable by at least a year in prison.
He faces up to 60 years behind bars and more than $1 million fines if convicted on the six-count indictment. His lawyer did not seek bail.
In 1995, Olmeda was arrested for possession of a flame-thrower and for building pipe bombs.
Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, he was arrested carrying ammo and bomb-making equipment. He spent 18 months in prison, but denied plotting an attack.