Suspected Filipino jihadist arrested in NY

Screencap / Fox5

A suspected Filipino jihadist was arrested in Queens after New York police pulled him over during a traffic stop near LaGuardia International Airport and discovered a cache of weapons in his vehicle.

Judd Sanson, 27, was arraigned on charges of criminal possession of a weapon, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on June 13.

Sanson was stopped by police at 86th Street and Ditmars Boulevard in East Elmhurst after officers saw his black Ford Explorer with a covered license plate.

Police officers allegedly found a cache of weapons in the car, including a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol, ammunition, stun gun, knives, whip, body armor, NYPD uniform items and a baton with writing on it that read “Left Me No Choice.”

Photo from NYPD

“This investigation is ongoing and I thank the NYPD for apprehending the defendant on a routine traffic stop before anything else happened,” Katz said.

On June 17, Sanson appeared before Judge Edwin Novello at the Queens Criminal Court.

The incident

On June 12, at 1:25 a.m., a police officer stopped Sanson, who was driving a black 2013 Ford Explorer with a black film covering the rear license plate.

As the police officer approached the car, he saw “a black handle protruding from a holster that was strapped to Sanson’s right pants leg,” according to the Queens District Attorney’s press release.

“Sanson was asked if he had a knife, and he removed a black knife with a black handle from the holster and placed it near the center console of the vehicle,” the press release said.

Police recovered a semiautomatic 9mm pistol loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition, nine loaded magazines and 127 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

A father of two, Sanson spent Father’s Day in Rivers Island and is currently being held without bail.

Sanson’s friend, identified as “Jay,” told the New York Post he was shocked as he knew Sanson as a quiet person who showed no signs of extremism.

“He’s a quiet kid, he speaks about positivity,” Jay said. “I would never expect this from him. I’m so shocked. I honestly don’t know what to think,” Jay said.

Jay further noted that Sanson, with his heavy accent, had been bullied in school, which may have contributed to his recent behavior.

He also mentioned that Sanson had converted to Islam a few years ago — a surprising change given his devout Catholic family background.