Per Gaithersburg Police: On January 9, 2023 at approximately 11:43 p.m., a Gaithersburg Police Department patrol officer observed a U-Haul box truck traveling on Clopper Road. The officer ran the vehicle registration plate several times, with no return listing for a registered owner. The officer having knowledge that there have been several instances of individuals switching out invalid registration plates on U-Haul vehicles, a traffic stop was initiated.
Upon approaching the truck, the officer smelled an odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle which led to a probable cause search. During the vehicle search, the officer located a loaded Bersa Thunder 380 handgun in the driver side door pocket. The handgun had a round in the chamber, but no rounds in the magazine. A check of the handguns serial number returned that it had been stolen out of Washington DC. A criminal history query on the driver revealed that he is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior robbery with a handgun arrest out of Prince George’s County, MD. Additionally, there was a female passenger, who had multiple arrest warrants to include theft and malicious destruction of property. The driver, a 31-year-old male from Upper Marlboro, MD was arrested and charged with the following:
· Loaded Handgun in Vehicle;
· Handgun in Vehicle;
· Firearm Possession with a Felony Conviction;
· Regulated Firearm: Illegal Possession;
· Illegal Possession of Ammunition; and
· Regulated Firearm: Stolen.
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