Aide to anti-gun NYC Mayor de Blasio busted on gun charges, worked in city’s criminal justice office

43 mins

Reagan Stevens, a deputy director for anti-gun New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, was arrested on gun charges Saturday night. (Image source: WCBS-TV video screenshot) 

Dave Urbanski

A deputy director for anti-gun New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) was arrested on gun charges.

Reagan Stevens, 42, was inside a vehicle in Jamaica, Queens, on Saturday night when police found a loaded 9-millimeter gun in the vehicle, police told WCBS-TV.

Police said two men also were in the vehicle, but all three were arrested since no one claimed the gun, the station reported.

Stevens worked in the city’s Office of Criminal Justice, fighting against putting 16- and 17-year-olds on trial as adults, WCBS reported.

“The employee has been suspended immediately without pay pending investigation,” the de Blasio administration said in a statement, the station said. “We take these allegations very seriously.”

What has been reported about the incident?

• The double-parked SUV that Stevens and the two men occupied smelled of marijuana, the New York Post reported, citing a criminal complaint.
• The SUV was found near the scene of a shooting, the paper added, citing sources who said five gunshots activated an NYPD ShotSpotter gunfire-detection device.
• Stevens was in the back seat of the 2002 Infiniti when a loaded 9mm Hi-Point semi-automatic pistol was found in a green velvet bag in the glove compartment, the Post reported, citing court papers.
• The gun’s serial number was scratched off and loaded with two rounds of ammunition, the paper said, adding that a spent round was found on the driver’s-side floor.
• Police found a paintball gun and carbon dioxide cartridges in the vehicle’s rear cargo area and a knife in 25-year-old driver Caesar Forbes’ waistband, the Post reported.
• Montel Hughes, 24, was sitting in the passenger seat and was allegedly found with five Ziploc bags of pot in his coat pocket and a knife in his pants pocket, the paper said, citing the complaint.
• Stevens, Hughes and Forbes each were charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, the Post reported, adding that Hughes was charged with marijuana possession.

What else do we know about Stevens?

Stevens’ mother, Deborah Stevens, is a Queens Criminal Court judge, the Post reported, adding that Stevens’ stepfather is an acting Queens Supreme Court justice.