A Long Island man has been charged for threatening to kill his estranged wife at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Glen Oaks, Queens, on Thursday (Photo: Google)
Feb. 22, 2022 By Christian Murray
A Long Island man was arrested last week for allegedly threatening to shoot his estranged wife while she held their child in her arms inside a hospital in Queens.
Thomas Saxton, 34, allegedly pulled out a gun at around noon Thursday inside Cohen Children’s Medical Center, located in Glen Oaks, and threatened to shoot his wife as she held their two-year-old child. He allegedly threatened to kill her in front of several people.
According to the charges, Saxton then walked out of the 76th Avenue medical facility and then called his wife on his phone and said he would kill her in her sleep.
Police responded to the scene and nabbed Saxton in the hospital parking lot. He allegedly dropped a loaded magazine to the ground when police arrived.
Cops allegedly recovered a .10mm pistol, a .9mm pistol as well as ammunition for both firearms. He also had cocaine in his wallet, according to the charges.
The two guns were “ghost guns,” authorities said, which meant they did not have serial numbers, which law enforcement agencies use to trace firearms.
“This defendant allegedly threatened to shoot his wife in a hospital that specializes in treating children,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “This potentially deadly threat was made all the more frightening when police found illegal and untraceable firearms on the defendant.”
Saxton, of Baisley Avenue in East Rockaway, was arraigned Friday on a 14-count criminal complaint. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the second and fourth degree; criminal possession of a firearm; menacing in the second degree; criminal possession of a controlled substance; and endangering the welfare of a child, among other charges.
Saxton faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Katz said the proliferation of ghost guns is adding to the violence across the city.
“This growing prevalence of ‘ghost guns’ is adding to the chaos and bloodshed in our neighborhoods,” Katz said. “My office will continue to do everything possible to stop the flow of these and all illegal guns in our neighborhoods. The defendant has been apprehended and now faces very serious charges.”
