Saquon Barkley’s dad claimed family needed pink gun found in car ‘because of who my son is’: court docs
The father of Philadelphia Eagles superstar Saquon Barkley – allegedly caught with a loaded pink gun stashed in his Corvette while driving in the Bronx – claimed the family needed the weapon “for safety because of who my son is,” new court docs reveal.
Alibay Barkley, 55, was pulled over for covered license plates Wednesday evening at East 140th Street and Third Avenue in Mott Haven, according to a complaint filed in Bronx Criminal Court.
An officer looked in the center console of Barkley’s 2018 Chevy Corvette and found the pink SSCY model firearm — with eight live cartridges in the magazine, the court papers state.
“That is my wife’s gun,” Barkley, who lives in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, allegedly told the cop.
“We keep it for safety because of who my son is and because we come back to the Bronx to visit a lot.”
Cops initially conducted the stop because Barkley was driving with obstructed license plates that did not match the vehicle – which was unregistered, authorities said.
Investigators also found that Barkley does not have a New York State license or permit to carry the gun and ammunition, according to the court filing.
Barkley was hit with five weapon possession-related charges, in addition to possession of ammunition, according to the complaint.
Police also charged him with violations for operating an unregistered vehicle, having a dirty or covered plate, and using improper plates – though those counts did not appear in the court document.
A judge ordered Barkley – who has prior brushes with the law – held on $5,000 cash bail or $15,000 bond. Prosecutors had requested that he be held on $15,000 cash bail or $45,000 bond.
It’s unclear if anyone else was inside the car at the time of the traffic stop.
Barkley’s arrest history includes a gun charge that landed him on Rikers Island for a year when he was just 19, Saquon told LancasterOnline in 2018.
The conviction prompted Saquon’s mother, Tonya Johnson, to move her young family from the Bronx to Pennsylvania for a fresh start.
Alibay Barkley followed his family to Pennsylvania after he was freed, steering clear from the law until 2016 when he was arrested and Tased for refusing to get off an Allentown bus after the driver accused him of skirting his fare.
He later sued the police department and bus company for discrimination and the case was settled in 2018 for $45,000.
“My dad has been through a lot. He made that a big point when I was young: Don’t make the same mistakes he did in life,” Saquon, who played college football at Penn State, had told Lancaster Online.
“You have to respect him as a man. A lot of people can’t look their kids in the face and tell them the decisions that they made were awful and the mistakes they made were bad. That helped me.”
A representative for Saquon Barkley did not have any information about the incident Thursday night.
Alibay Barkley’s next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
