Man pleads not guilty to violating gun laws

A man who was arrested for allegedly violating several gun laws has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Alexander Palacios Borja Jr. appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho last week, waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and entered a plea of not guilty.

Camacho set Borja’s trial for March 26.

Following the hearing, Borja was remanded back to Department of Corrections custody as the defense could not provide the court with an eligible third party custodian to whom Borja could be released.

Borja, 32, is facing gun-related charges for violating firearm regulations on storage, lawful transportation, persons permitted to possess ammunition, removal of a firearm’s serial numbers, and firearm owner’s identification card requirement exceptions.

The Superior Court had imposed a $25,000 cash bail on Borja. He was arrested after he was allegedly caught throwing a bag out of a car window at a traffic stop. The bag was allegedly later found to contain a handgun.

According to court documents, police conducted a violator stop on a green Hyundai Tucson operated by Borja last Dec. 14, because the car was being driven with no lights on the car’s rear license plate.

As the first officer was approaching Borja, another officer said they saw a black bag fly out of the passenger-side window and land on the ground. Upon opening the bag, police found a Glock handgun loaded with a magazine clip.

When police asked Borja about the bag, he initially claimed that he did not know who owns the bag. Later, however, Borja allegedly admitted to police that he grabbed the black bag from the back seat and threw it out of the passenger-side window, as he was afraid he may be charged with possession of a firearm.

He added that the Glock handgun inside the black bag belonged to his godbrother, who told him to hold it for him until he was released from prison.

After the traffic stop, police impounded Borja’s car and Borja was transported to the Department of Public Safety.