Boxer Guerrero gets fine, no jail for trying to carry gun on Vegas-bound flight

Robert Guerrero’s attempt to bring a gun onto an airplane will not land him in jail after all.

The 30-year-old boxer who lost a 12-round unanimous decision to WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 4 at the MGM Grand Garden, appeared in Queens County (N.Y.) Criminal Court Tuesday morning and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. He was fined $250 and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service.

“I’m pleased that the District Attorney’s office considered my case carefully and resolved it fairly,” Guerrero said in a statement released by his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions. “I never intended to violate New York law, but I know that ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

“Lesson learned. I’m happy this incident is behind me and I’m looking forward to returning to the ring as well as serving my community as ordered by the court.”

Guerrero was initially arrested on March 28 at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport while checking in for his flight on Delta Air Lines to Las Vegas. He had been on the East Coast for a three-day media tour to promote the fight with Mayweather and disclosed to the Delta employee who was checking him in for his flight that he had a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun which was unloaded along with three unloaded magazines with the capacity to hold up to 15 rounds of ammunition.

By law, the airline notified Port Authority police, who arrested Guerrero. At the time, Guerrero was charged one count of criminal possession of a firearm and three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Had Queens County District Attorney Richard Brown decided to pursue felony gun charges and had he been convicted, Guerrero faced up to four years in prison. Instead, those charges were dropped, the plea of disorderly conduct accepted, Guerrero is a free man and will be allowed to do his community service in his hometown of Gilroy, Calif.

A spokesman for Brown said the D.A. did not go harder on Guerrero because the boxer admitted to airline officials that he had a weapon in his possession when he attempted to board a flight.

“The plea was consistent with the District Attorney’s policy in that (Guerrero) voluntarily disclosed possession of the gun and that the gun was in a locked box and had been legally purchased and licensed in California,” spokesman Kevin Ryan said.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.