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He reportedly threatened a patron with the weapon, which went off during an ensuing scuffle to disarm him.
Melchiced Vilchis-Rosas, 43, of 34 Fairmont Avenue, was arraigned Thursday in State Supreme Court in White Plains on a nine-count indictment that included reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.
Prosecutors say that on Aug. 29, 2012, at about 10:40 p.m., Vilchis-Rosas walked into the Montezuma Restaurant at 350 South Broadway, carrying a black plastic bag with an automatic-loading rifle inside.
After sitting down at the bar, Vilchis-Rosas went to the men’s room, prosecutors said. When he came out of the bathroom, he pointed the gun at a patron in the bar, according to prosecutors.
The bar owner and another customer were able to wrestle the gun out of his hands, and the gun fired a single shot during the scuffle, prosecutors said.
The bullet went through a wall into the women’s restroom, and no one was injured, officials said.
Vilchis-Rosas then ran from the bar, leaving behind the gun, prosecutors said.
Yonkers police responded to the scene and located Vilchis-Rosas a short time later, where he was placed under arrest.
“This defendant walked into a crowded bar carrying a loaded rifle, and with his irresponsible and reckless behavior, placed lives in danger,” Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in a statement. “The quick-thinking actions of the patrons to disarm him and response by police certainly averted what could have been a far more tragic outcome.”
Vilchis-Rosas has been charged with three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony. He was also charged with criminal mischief, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and three counts of menacing, all misdemeanors.
He was taken to the Westchester County Jail.
Vilchis-Rosas is scheduled to appear in court again Jan. 31. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 7 years in state prison.
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