NYC Correction officer busted with stash of weapons in car – including assault rifle, shotgun and machete: DA

An off-duty city Department of Correction officer was arrested this week for allegedly driving around with a stash of weapons in his car – including an assault rifle, a shotgun and a machete, prosecutors said. 

Cops stopped Johnathan Williams, 40, after he made an improper left turn in his Honda at 161st Place and Baisley Boulevard in Rochdale around 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court. 

The officers found a gravity knife in the front driver’s side door – and then discovered even more weapons in the trunk, the complaint said.

Williams allegedly had a machete with a blade more than four inches long, a Remington 870 shotgun and an Anderson .556 assault rifle with a detachable magazine, pistol grip and telescoping stock, the court doc said. 

Three shotgun shells were recovered from the front driver’s side door, as well as 20 rounds of .556 ammunition from a container inside the center console, the complaint said.

Williams – who has worked in the city’s jails for less than a year – was arrested and faces multiple charges related to weapons and ammunition possession, prosecutors said. 

He was appointed to the DOC on May 30, 2025, and worked in the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island, the agency said. 

Williams was suspended without pay indefinitely following his arrest, according to the DOC.