Man Caught in Colonie With Sawed Off Shotgun

Thanks to an alert Motel 6 employee, there is one less illegal gun on the streets of Colonie. Certainly, when a Motel 6 employee called the police for trespassers, they had no idea that one of the trespassers had a sawed-off shotgun in their backpack.

According to Spotlight News, On Saturday, a worker at the Motel 6 on Central Avenue, called the police because there were two subjects inside one of their unrented hotel rooms. The caller reported that two male subjects fled the room and ran westbound on Central Ave.

Police officers with the Colonie Police Department responded to the call and discovered the two subjects in the parking lot of the Howard Johnson's Motel.

One of the subjects, 21-year-old Juan A. Vazquez of Amsterdam, was properly identified and arrested on Saturday. When officers first made contact with Vazquez, he gave them a fake name because he was trying to hide his identity. He knew that he had an outstanding warrant for a traffic violation in Amsterdam.

When officers searched Vazquez’s backpack, they discovered a loaded sawed-off shotgun. Officers confiscated the Stoeger 12-gauge shotgun loaded with 12 gauge shotgun shells. Vasquez did not have a gun permit, but even if he did, the altered barrel of the gun still made it illegal.

Although Motel 6 did not want to pursue trespassing charges against the subjects, Vazquez was still charged and taken into custody. He was charged with second-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, third-degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, and second-degree Criminal Impersonation.

The other subject in the incident was released without being charged. If Mr. Vazquez is convicted, he could spend up to 23 years in jail.