Police: Citizen’s vigilance helped track down man found with cache of weapons
Posted: Updated:Police say that a citizen’s vigilance helped track down a Long Island plastic surgeon found with loaded assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his car in Tuckahoe.
Dr. Matthew Bonanno is facing several charges of criminal possession of a weapon.
Police discovered fully loaded assault rifles, more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition and other paraphernalia inside Bonanno's car Monday parked outside his ex-wife's home in Tuckahoe.
MORE: Police arrest man on weapons possession charge in Ramapo
His family lives in Briarcliff, the same home where police found more illegal weapons.
“We'll assist the citizens in keeping their communities safe, so the police can't be everywhere and we encourage people to help out,” says Mount Pleasant Police Chief Paul Oliva.
Oliva says this vigilance is what helped police track down 47-year-old Bonanno, of Great Neck.
Police say someone at a Tuckahoe bar contacted them after hearing Bonanno make threats against his estranged wife and her family.
“They saved lives by whoever came forward and reported in to Tuckahoe police,” says Oliva.
Bonnano is currently being held without bail at the Westchester County Jail. He'll be back in court next week.
