Tipsheet

Queens Man Headed to Prison for Shooting His Mugger

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  November 21, 2025 2:30 PM

Charles Foehner was walking to his home in Queens during the early morning hours on May 31, 2023, when he was confronted by a mugger, Cody Gonzalez, who threatened to harm him. Foehner pulled out a gun and shot the 32-year-old in the chest, killing him. Within days, Foehner was arraigned on multiple gun charges. Gonzalez, unsurprisingly, had multiple prior arrests and a history of mental illness.

Following his trial, Foehner will spend four years behind bars for the crime of defending himself in New York City.

Here's more:

A Queens senior citizen who shot dead a man who tried to rob him will spend four years in prison after admitting to toting an unlicensed revolver — as his lawyer ripped the city’s “draconian” gun laws.

Charles Foehner, 67, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal weapons possession Thursday in a deal to end his case more than two years after he fatally shot would-be thief Cody Gonzalez, who charged at him near his Kew Gardens home.

The Queens District Attorney’s Office chose not to prosecute Foehner, a retired doorman, for Gonzalez’s killing after he told cops that he’d defended himself from a mugger who lunged at him late at night holding what looked like a knife — but which turned out to be a pen.

But prosecutors slapped Foehner with a slew of weapons raps for the unlicensed handgun and for an arsenal of illicit handguns, revolvers and rifles inside his home in the quiet neighborhood.

It's insane.

That's what this boils down to. Daniel Penny didn't use a gun when he protected people on the subway. He engaged in self-defense and was prosecuted for it.

Or set on fire on the subway.

That's exactly what this is, anarchotyranny.

Heinous is the right word to describe it.

Mamdani believes in "international law," and that's a problem for everyone.

New York City is not one of those places.