UNION, N.J. — Police have arrested three men and are looking for a fourth following a traffic stop that resulted in the discovery of three illegal handguns, illegal drugs, stolen credit cards, latex gloves and ski masks, officials said in a recent press release.
Driver Bilal Patterson, 25, and Isaiah Gavin, 20, both of Maplewood, and Daquan Berger, 26, of Newark, were arrested after officers in an unmarked patrol vehicle with the street crimes unit spotted a car with illegally tinted windows on Springfield Avenue in the Vauxhall section of the township and pulled it over on Maple Avenue at 8:42 p.m. on Dec. 11.
According to police reports, a .45 caliber pistol and cups containing a mixture of prescription cough syrup and soda were found inside the vehicle during an investigation at the scene. As officers began to initiate arrests, Kenneth Newton, 22, with addresses in both Maplewood and Newark, allegedly fled on foot and escaped.
While a search was conducted for Newton, officers at the scene reportedly found two additional handguns, a Smith & Wesson .380 and .45-caliber Ruger — both fully loaded; marijuana; promethazine, a sedative that is also used as a painkiller; ski masks and latex gloves; and four stolen credit cards, police said.
Patterson, Gavin and Burger were charged with illegal possession of the three handguns and possession of illegal drugs inside the car. Gavin was also charged with possession of four stolen credit cards.
Additionally, it was subsequently discovered that Gavin was wanted on warrants in East Orange, Irvington and Newark for other crimes.
All three were being held at the Union Police Department Headquarters until being transported to the Union County Jail for a bail hearing.