On September 29, 2022, at approximately 5:30 p.m., the Watervliet Police Department’s Community Support Unit, in conjunction with members of the patrol division, conducted a motor vehicle stop on 23^rd Street after observing violations of the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law. The operator, Ezekiel Mauzon III, initially provided officers with a false name but was accurately identified a short time later. Additionally, Mauzon was operating the vehicle with a suspended NYS Driver’s License.

Officers located a loaded, illegally-possessed handgun and 12 grams of cocaine (photos attached) inside Mauzon’s vehicle in close proximity to the two juvenile passengers.

Watervliet police charged Mauzon, a 33-year-old male from Troy (photo attached) with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 3^rd Degree (Class B Felony), Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the 4^th Degree (Class C Felony), Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the 2^nd Degree (Class C Felony),  Criminally Using Drug Paraphernalia in the 2^nd Degree (Class A Misdemeanor), two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Class A Misdemeanor), Criminal Impersonation in the 2^nd Degree (Class A Misdemeanor) and other Vehicle and Traffic Law violations.

Mauzon was arraigned in Green Island Town Court and remanded to the Albany County Correctional Facility.