QUEENS — A man carrying a starter pistol was arrested after he groped a 13-year-old girl on a Forest Hills street, police sources said.
Montel Hughes, 22, approached the girl as she was walking with her mother near the intersection of 71st Avenue and Queens Boulevard around midnight on July 6 and "rubbed his hands up and down" her arm, according to the criminal complaint.
Hughes headed eastbound on Queens Boulevard and was later spotted near the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Ascan Avenue, court documents said.
When officers tried to stop him, the suspect ran into an alley at 109-14 Ascan Ave., according to sources and the criminal complaint.
Officers then saw that Hughes was holding what looked like a black gun in his hand, sources said.
As the officers got closer to him, Hughes tossed the weapon through an open basement window.
Officers were able to arrest the man and recover the weapon from the basement. It turned out to be a black 6mm Ekol Viper revolver — a starter pistol that contained five empty shell cases, according to the criminal complaint.
Excellent Work!! Field Training Officer & PPO, McLoughlin & Prasad, 4 taking this firearm off the street #onelessgun pic.twitter.com/qZftQGsgqF
— NYPD 112th Precinct (@NYPD112Pct) July 7, 2016
Hughes, who sources said does not live in the area, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of a simulated firearm and harassment.
He has had previous run-ins with the law, including eight prior arrests, most of them sealed, police sources said.
Hughes is currently being held on $40,000 bail and is due back in court on July 26, according to the Department of Correction website.
His attorney was not immediately available for comment.
