A top boxer was busted today when he showed up at a Kennedy Airport check-in counter with a handgun, authorities said.
WBC welterweight champ Robert Joseph Guerrero, 30, declared the gun was in luggage he planned to check for his 8:10 a.m. Delta flight to Las Vegas, said Port Authority police.
But though the gun was unloaded — and even though Guerrero had no ammo — he was busted for violating New York’s strict gun possession laws.
Guerrero, who in media appearances touts his clean-living Christian lifestyle, was freed without bail this afternoon on weapons possession charges after he entered a not guilty plea in Queens Criminal Court.
He’s due back in court on May 14 – leaving him free to go ahead with a scheduled TV bout scheduled for May 4 against Floyd Mayweather.
But if he’s convicted, Guerrero could end up in prison for up to seven years. Under New York’s new gun laws, possessing an unloaded weapon was raised from a misdemeanor to a felony.
“I hope that Mr. Guerrero fights better than he thinks,” said Queens DA Richard Brown.
“For anyone who hasn’t gotten the message, let me be crystal clear. You cannot bring an unlicensed weapon — loaded or unloaded — into this county or this city. And if you do you will be arrested and face felony charges.”
By declaring the .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semi-automatic to a Delta ticket agent, Guerrero, a California resident, effectively admitted he’d possessed it since he arrived in New York on Monday, said sources.
Guerrero presented the gun to the agent in a locked box, which also contained three unloaded magazines capable of holding 15 rounds of ammo.
Guerrero, who was being filmed by a crew from the Showtime network, said the “media knows he is a hunter and requested he bring the weapon for a photo op,” said a police report.
A Showtime crew showed up today at Queens Criminal Court for Guerrero’s expected arraignment.