Man Who Shot Eric Garner Video Pleads Not Guilty in Weapons Case

The man who shot a video of a fatal police chokehold pleaded not guilty Friday to weapons charges following his arrest earlier this month. 

Ramsey Orta, 22, was arrested Aug. 2 on Staten Island, blocks from where Eric Garner died in police custody.

Police said plainclothes officers from a borough narcotics unit saw Orta stuff a silver, .25-caliber handgun into a 17-year-old female companion's waistband after they walked out of the Hotel Richmond. Police called the location, on Central Avenue, a "known drug prone location."

Police said Orta, who has been jailed since the arrest, had a previous weapon conviction that prohibited him from possessing a firearm. He remained in jail after pleading not guilty Friday.

Orta shot the video of an officer using a chokehold to restrain Garner on July 17. Garner died shortly thereafter, and his death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner's office.

Orta's wife, Chrissie Ortiz, has said she believes Orta's arrest was a "setup" in retribution. 

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