MSP Recover Guns During Multiple Traffic Stops & Crashes Statewide
During the past weekend, troopers from one end of the state to the other recovered guns during traffic stops, while responding to 15 crashes involving impaired drivers.
Shortly before 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 15th, a trooper from the Berlin Barrack stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation on Rt. 50 near Berlin in Worcester County. A loaded .40 caliber handgun was found under the driver’s seat. An 18-year-old passenger was charged with possession of a loaded handgun, possession of a handgun by a prohibited person, possession with intent to distribute cocaine and other charges.
Just after 11 a.m. Saturday, a trooper from the Princess Anne Barrack in Somerset County conducted a traffic stop on Ocean Highway in Westover and a loaded .38 caliber handgun was recovered from a passenger in the car. The passenger was arrested and charged with firearms violations.
At about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, troopers from the North East Barrack in Cecil County responded to a domestic call from a woman who said that, despite a protective order, her estranged husband was threatening her with a gun. While the victim was reporting this to the barrack, another man on the scene wrestled the gun from the suspect, who then fled the scene. A state trooper located the suspect on Rt. 213 at Spears Hill Road and stopped him. He was found to be wearing a bandolier and had additional shotgun rounds in his pocket. A trooper who responded to the scene at the victim’s home recovered a loaded shotgun. The suspect was determined to be prohibited from owning firearms. He was arrested and charged.
Yesterday afternoon in Garrett County, a trooper on patrol saw a driver pass who he knew had a suspended/revoked driver’s license. He checked and verified the suspension/revocation and then stopped the vehicle. Upon approaching the driver, the trooper smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage and subsequently arrested him for impaired driving. The trooper found a rifle in the SUV, along with drug paraphernalia and suspected methamphetamine. The suspect was arrested and charged.
Troopers also responded statewide to 15 crashes involving suspected impaired drivers across the state this weekend. Those crashes occurred in Harford, Prince George’s, Baltimore, Frederick, Anne Arundel, St. Mary’s and Garrett counties. Driver’s were charged or have charges pending in each case.
