Man arrested in New York City with pistol, 8 loaded magazines and other weapons, police say

((CNN) — The New York Police Department is investigating whether a Queens man arrested Wednesday was planning an attack before he was stopped and found with a handgun, eight loaded magazines and other weapons, according to police officials familiar with the investigation.

According to the NYPD, officers stopped Judd Sanson after noticing a blacked-out license plate on his black Ford Explorer around 1:30 a.m. Officers eventually found a large stash of weapons, handcuffs, NYPD uniform items and a New York City traffic officer vest, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey B. Maddrey told reporters Wednesday.

Sanson, 27, was taken into custody and faces charges of illegal possession of a weapon – a loaded firearm, illegal possession of a weapon, unauthorized possession of an ammunition feeding device and having an obscured license plate, the NYPD told CNN in an email.

In court on Thursday, his lawyer entered a not guilty plea and Sanson was remanded in custody. His next hearing is scheduled for Monday.

During the search of Sanson’s car, officers also found a 9mm Glock, 100 rounds of ammunition, a stun gun, several knives, a whip, an extendable baton, heavy body armor and two axes, Maddrey said.

The man was believed to have been carrying a bulletproof vest with an NYPD patch on the front and an orange MTA vest, the type normally worn by New York City subway workers, according to police officials familiar with the investigation. Police displayed the items at a press conference on Wednesday, including the Guy Fawkes mask made famous by the film “V for Vendetta.”

According to an affidavit released Thursday, police found an extendable baton with the words “left me no choice,” “that’s what you’ll learn today” (sic) and “astaghfirullah” written in marker. The latter phrase is Arabic and means “I seek forgiveness from God,” the affidavit said.

Sanson also essentially told an officer, “Sorry, I’m taking it off. There are a lot of drunk people around these days,” the affidavit states.

After Thursday’s court hearing, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said investigators would search all of Sanson’s social media accounts to determine his true motives.

“If someone is driving around with 11 different weapons, with all the ammunition, with language on the baton that sounds threatening, with transit uniforms that can be used almost anywhere in our subway system or our transit system, then we have reason to be concerned,” Katz said.

A day earlier, Maddrey had said it was “too early” in the ongoing investigation to determine whether the incident was related to terrorism.

“We’re going to be very thorough in this investigation,” Maddrey said. “The Criminal Investigation Bureau will be investigating along with our intelligence unit to see what else we can find out about this arrest.”

Police sources said investigators from the NYPD’s Intelligence Division and Joint Terrorism Task Force were called in because of the number and type of weapons, the pistol, the amount of ammunition and vests with police and transport symbols.

Investigators are also examining documents found in the car and on social media, police said.

“Members of this department make gun arrests, weapon arrests and knife arrests every day. But in an arrest of this magnitude – the amount of ammunition and NYPD paraphernalia in the car – was significant,” Maddrey said Wednesday.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said authorities were taking the case “very seriously” but could not say whether the man was planning an attack.

“This behavior will not be tolerated in any way. It is criminal and I trust that this individual will be prosecuted by our system and punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Hochul told CNN’s Laura Coates on Wednesday evening.

“This is unacceptable in New York State. It’s scary, but it’s important to know that the police are on top of this and more cases will be reported as soon as we are able to notify the public,” she said.