Man, 65, fatally shoots mugger outside Queens apartment building; faces illegal weapon charge

A Queens man who shot and killed an ex-con trying to rob him early Wednesday morning near his home escaped homicide charges from officials who said he gunned down the mugger with an illegal weapon.

Charles Foehner, 65, who was confronted by a man waving a sharp object on a dark street, could face additional charges if the case is brought before a grand jury, officials said.

The sharp object turned out to be a pen.

But the resident felt threatened enough that he pulled out a gun and fired it five times as the mugger continued to bear down on him, hitting the would-be robber in the chest, police said.

Foehner was walking up a driveway leading to an entrance to his apartment building on 82nd Ave. near Queens Blvd. in Kew Gardens when the mugger confronted him around 2 a.m., cops said.

The crook demanded the gunman’s cash and cigarettes. He had a pen in his hand that Foehner thought was a knife.

As the robber approached with the pen, Foehner flashed a revolver, shooting the suspect in the chest, according to the NYPD.

The 32-year-old mugger died at the scene. His name was not immediately released.

The shooter called 911 to report the incident. A nearby resident also called 911, police said.

When cops arrived, the gunman admitted to shooting the robber and said his revolver was in his pocket. He then handed the firearm over to responding officers.

He was taken in for questioning and will be charged with illegal use of a firearm.

“I’m still in the dark about all of this,” the shooter’s wife told the Daily News. “I don’t want to comment right now.”

The gunman’s building’s superintendent said the tenant was just minding his own business in the moments before the shooting.

Cops said he was coming home from a nearby store.

“I can tell you he didn’t want to do that,” said John, the super, who viewed surveillance video of the shooting.

“I can tell you he wasn’t looking for trouble. He was trying to go about his day.”

The video shows Foehner walking towards an entrance of the building at 2:03 a.m. The mugger comes up behind him and advances while menacing his target with the pen.

The older man holds up a hand and walks backwards. Eventually he takes a revolver out, clearly showing it for several seconds to the mugger.

The gunman “turned around before (the mugger) got any closer and backed up the entire way, telling him to leave,” the super said.

The video shows the mugger continuing to approach before he is shot.

The shooter takes out his keys and opens the door to the building and is seen trying to get somebody’s attention before running off camera. The mugger sprints away about 50 yards and then collapses.

“He showed amazing restraint,” the super said of his tenant. “He doesn’t deserve to be in jail.”

The door to a building next door was smashed in, as well as the intercom in a building across the street. Neighbors said they believe the mugger had been trying to break into buildings before encountering the shooter.

On Wednesday morning, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz toured the scene as prosecutors mulled what charges to bring.

“We’re still investigating and as soon as we have all the facts, then we’ll make those decisions,” she told reporters. “This is a complicated case and we’re going to review the evidence.”

The mugger had multiple arrests on his record, including a weapon possession arrest on Feb. 9 and robbery, burglary and petty larceny arrests last year, according to police. He has also been accused of selling drugs and criminal mischief.

“Oh, my God!” a distant relation told the Daily News. “This is crazy. This is so terrible!”

But she seemed to commiserate with Foehner.

“If the guy was going to hold him up — I’m a 67 year old — I would defend myself,” she said.

Several people who knew him said he was unhinged.

A woman who used to live near him in Glendale, said she had an order of protection out against him.

“He was on my property,“ the former neighbor said. “He had my dad’s mail. He took it. You saw it on camera. So then I called the cops and they came and he was just sitting on top of the stairs. He was saying that he knew my dad which is bulls---. My dad doesn’t even live here. I just get his mail here.”

”Something was definitely wrong with him,” she said. “I mean, it’s sad.”

Police said Foehner had a gun permit, but it was not for the revolver. The shooter has no criminal history, they added.

Residents described Foehner as a good neighbor who would never start a confrontation.

“He’s one of the best I’ve ever met,” said Foehner’s neighbor Jared, 68. “He’s the last one to hurt you, to trick you. I am shocked.”

Jared said the neighborhood is nice but has gone downhill in the last several years.

“You’ve got to defend yourself,” he said. “It’s just about your life or the other.”

Neighbor Angel Rodriguez, 46, said Foehner is friendly and respectful.

“My interactions with him have always been pleasant, I’ve never seen anything from him to indicate malice,” Rodriguez said.

“Initially I didn’t know who it was or what went down,” he added. “My understanding was that somebody tried to rob someone with a knife and they defended themselves with a firearm. So my first thought was, I hope that it’s legal. It’s unfortunate that life is lost.“