Greene gun shop owner charged with aiming an assault rifle at an associate
GREENE – A Village of Greene gun shop owner was arrested Thursday and all his firearms seized after police charged him with aiming an assault rifle at an associate during an argument.
Greene Police Chief Steven Dutcher said his department arrested Wayne C. Cook Jr., 49, of 12 Water St., Thursday, after he allegedly pointed an AK-47 assault rifle at a man he was having a verbal dispute with from his back porch. Dutcher said Cook’s residence was also his place of business, Cook and Sons Fine Guns, and police seized 47 long guns, including the suspect AK-47.
He was charged with second degree menacing, arraigned in village court and then remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 cash bail. On the same night of his arrest, Cook posted the amount and is currently out on bail.
In the last two weeks the Greene Police, Chenango County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Troopers responded to 13 different complaints regarding the residence, many over harassment and neighbor disputes, the chief explained.
“We knew tempers were rising and were afraid something like this could happen due to the availability of firepower in the residence,” said Dutcher.
The Sheriff’s Office took the original menacing complaint because the Greene PD was unavailable at the time it was reported.
“They did a great job developing the case then turned it over to us for completion,” said Dutcher, who complimented the cooperation between the agencies.
Dutcher said the alleged victim in the case was a personal associate of Cook’s and that an escalating verbal dispute between the two men led to the incident.
Dutcher said police did not know if the gun was loaded and that according to the law, that’s irrelevant in this case.
“You don’t need to have it loaded. The law says a reasonable person only has to believe it may be loaded. When you’re looking down the end of a barrel, you can’t really tell – but it’s a reasonable assumption,” he said.
After receiving the complaint from the alleged victim, police tracked Cook to a local convenience store and arrested him. Police then executed a search warrant at his residence and removed the firearms.
“This is normally a very quiet neighborhood and when little things escalate, they can very easily get out of control. Hopefully we’ve avoided that,” said Dutcher.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which regulates federal firearm licensing for gun sellers, was alerted and has launched it own probe into the incident.
Greene Police Chief Steven Dutcher said his department arrested Wayne C. Cook Jr., 49, of 12 Water St., Thursday, after he allegedly pointed an AK-47 assault rifle at a man he was having a verbal dispute with from his back porch. Dutcher said Cook’s residence was also his place of business, Cook and Sons Fine Guns, and police seized 47 long guns, including the suspect AK-47.
He was charged with second degree menacing, arraigned in village court and then remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility in lieu of $20,000 cash bail. On the same night of his arrest, Cook posted the amount and is currently out on bail.
In the last two weeks the Greene Police, Chenango County Sheriff’s Office and the New York State Troopers responded to 13 different complaints regarding the residence, many over harassment and neighbor disputes, the chief explained.
“We knew tempers were rising and were afraid something like this could happen due to the availability of firepower in the residence,” said Dutcher.
The Sheriff’s Office took the original menacing complaint because the Greene PD was unavailable at the time it was reported.
“They did a great job developing the case then turned it over to us for completion,” said Dutcher, who complimented the cooperation between the agencies.
Dutcher said the alleged victim in the case was a personal associate of Cook’s and that an escalating verbal dispute between the two men led to the incident.
Dutcher said police did not know if the gun was loaded and that according to the law, that’s irrelevant in this case.
“You don’t need to have it loaded. The law says a reasonable person only has to believe it may be loaded. When you’re looking down the end of a barrel, you can’t really tell – but it’s a reasonable assumption,” he said.
After receiving the complaint from the alleged victim, police tracked Cook to a local convenience store and arrested him. Police then executed a search warrant at his residence and removed the firearms.
“This is normally a very quiet neighborhood and when little things escalate, they can very easily get out of control. Hopefully we’ve avoided that,” said Dutcher.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which regulates federal firearm licensing for gun sellers, was alerted and has launched it own probe into the incident.
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