Retiree Gets Four Years for Unlicensed Gun He Used to Kill a Mugger | Crime Alert 7PM 11.21.25

A man in New York now faces four years in prison after pleading guilty to possessing the unlicensed revolver he fired during a deadly confrontation with a mugger in Queens. Pras from the rap group the Fugees is going to prison for 14 years after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., sentences him for a sweeping foreign influence scheme that moved millions of dollars into U.S. politics. Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime a art hourly update, breaking crime news. Now, I'm
Drew Nelson. He says he used it to save himself
from a mugger. Yet, a man in New York is
now facing four years in prison after pleading guilty to
possessing the unlicensed revolver he fired during a deadly confrontation
in Queens. That man is Charles Foner, a sixty seven

(00:20):
year old retired doorman from Q Gardens. He admitted to
one count of criminal weapons possession in a deal that
ends his case. More than two years after he shot
Cody Gonzalez, who charged him near his home late at night.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
The Phoner was charged with serious violent felonies. I think inappropriately. Um,
you know, he had a decision for me.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
That's his attorney, Thomas Canniff. Prosecutors did not bring homicide
charges because Pener told police he acted in self defense
when Gonzales lunched at him holding what he thought was
a knife. It later turned out to be a pen.
Judge Tony Samino allowed him to remain free until his
January fourteenth sentencing. Detectives carried out a search of his
apartment and found more than two dozen firearms, including pistols,

(01:07):
hunting rifles, assault rifles, including an AK forty seven and
one hundred and fifty three loaded high capacity magazines. They
also found two body armor vests. Only five rifles were licensed.
The Queen's District Attorney's office brought a long list of
weapons charges tied to the collection. Surveillance footage from the
night of the shooting showed Gonzalez advancing down a driveway

(01:28):
even after Foner drew his revolver. Gonzalez had at least
fifteen prior arrests and a history of mental illness. After
the guilty plead, Caniff spoke on his behalf and argued
that strict New York gun laws create an impossible situation
for his client. He criticizes what he calls draconian restrictions
and says Poner accepted the deal to avoid the risk

(01:49):
of a decade's long sentence if he went to trial.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
I think that if this was a state, in a
city that had mayors in order, mister, mister, the phone
would be getting a plaque, not a prison.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
Ponner told investigators he carried the silver revolver because he
wanted to prevent himself from being a victim. He said
he had owned it since the nineteen nineties and told
prosecutors quote, I pulled the gun out of my pocket.
It didn't go off. Accidentally, I emptied the revolver. More
Crime and Justice news after this. The musician praz from

(02:27):
the Fujis is going to prison for fourteen years after
a federal judge in Washington, DC sentences him for a
sweeping foreign influence scheme moving millions of dollars into US politics.
Praquasrel Michel declined to speak in court before Judge Colleen
Caller Cotelli handed down the sentence. He was convicted in
April of twenty twenty three on ten criminal accounts, including conspiracy,

(02:50):
money laundering, illegal lobbying, witness tampering, funneling fourign money into
Barack Obama's twenty twelve reelection campaign acting as an unregistered
agent of the Gun Government of Malaysia. He will serve
three years of probation after the prison term, set to
surrender in January. Prosecutors say Michelle quote betrayed his country
for money and lied unapologetically and unrelentingly to carry out

(03:13):
his schemes. They argued that he accepted more than one
hundred million dollars from Malaysian billionaire Low Type Joe aka
Joe Lowe, then routed some of that money through straw
donors to reach the Obama campaign. Michelle later tried to
influence Trump administration officials to drop investigations into low and,
in a separate case, pushed for the expedition of a

(03:34):
Chinese dissident. Michelle's attorney, Peter Seidenberg, calls the Senate's quote
completely disproportionate to the offense and said they would appeal,
claiming his co defendants received lighter penalties because they did
not go to trial. Michelle grew up in Brooklyn and
co founded the Fujis with Lauren Hill and Wyclef Jean,
selling tens of millions of records, including a massively popular

(03:55):
cover of Killing Me Softly. His trial included testimony from
la Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He
sought a new trial last year, alleging his previous lawyer
used AI to craft quote an ineffectual closing argument, but
the judge rejected his request. He was first charged in
twenty nineteen and was ordered last month to forfeit tens

(04:17):
of millions of dollars tied to the scheme. A runaway
pig in New Mexico is now hamming it up in
a new home after a wild interstate chase that had
Albuquerque police officers squealing for backup. The pig, first called Parrot,
later renamed Boris, got loose on November eleventh and trotted
straight onto the I forty off ramp near Louisiana. Officers

(04:39):
chased him down the ramp as he zigzagged toward traffic.
One officer was particularly excited to join the chase.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
I have a cool asspeaking JG.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
They finally cornered him against wall and lifted him into
a patrol SUV. Boris spent several days at Albuquerque's West
Side Animal Shelter, hoping that an owner would claim him.
Nobody ever did so. A South Valley couple, Jared and
Catherine Henchman, told Albuquerque Animal Welfare they saw him on
the news and they knew they had to have him.
When we saw him running, we just saw his little

(05:20):
spirit and how hard he was working to survive, and
we just knew that he would sit right in.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
With our pig.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
That's Katherine on KRQE. The shelter posted video of the
handoff as Boris rooted his way straight into their hearts.
He now lives on fenced land with new siblings, including dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, cows,
a donkey, two EMUs, and another pig named swine Nonah.
Boris is settling in, enjoying a good scratching, exploring the

(05:47):
fall leaves, and proving he's no longer the borderline troublemaker
who shut down part of I forty. His new parents
promise he can live in sty eel and won't end
up quote on a plate anywhere or on the inner set.
To keep up with his porky progress, follow him on
Instagram at Boris al boor Kirkie for the latest crime

(06:08):
and justice news. Follow Crime Alert hourly update on your
favorite podcast app. Find us online at crimeonline dot com,
and remember to catch crime stories with Nancy Grace now
on Fox one at our new time on SiriusXM, Triumph
Channel one eleven six pm Eastern on YouTube and wherever
you get your podcasts. With this Crime Alert, I'm Drew
Nelson