Morgan Soto being removed from Centre Buffet restaurant after being arrested for allegedly carrying a 16-inch sword in Chinatown while acting erratically.
On the afternoon of Wed., May 29, a police traffic sergeant noticed a man acting erratically and carrying a 16-inch long sword near Canal St. in Chinatown. She gave chase while calling for backup. Within moments, uniformed and plainclothes officers from the Fifth Precinct cornered the man in a Chinese buffet restaurant at the corner of Howard and Centre Streets. The man, identified as Morgan Soto, 35 of Kips Bay, was removed by ambulance to a hospital for a psychological exam. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, disorderly conduct and also false impersonation, because he gave police a phony last name, according to the Daily News. Soto reportedly has more than 30 prior arrests, mostly for drug-related offenses.
