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Detectives noticed the improperly parked Chevy Impala with an expired license plate number outside a soul food restaurant at 10th Avenue and 23rd Street shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday, Police Director Jerry Speziale said.
Its headlights and tail lights were on and the windows were heavily tinted, making it difficult to determine whether anyone was inside, he said.
The driver, 30-year-old Malik Colon, lowered the driver’s side window but not the passenger window, Speziale said.
After smelling raw pot, Detective Ferdi Abedinoski asked Colon for his driver’s license.
He gave the detective work credentials identifying him as a counselor at K-4 Public School #19 instead, Speziale said.
Colon doesn't work for the district, however, spokesman Paul Brubaker said.
The detectives noticed a juvenile in the front passenger seat and another occupant sitting in back.
As all three were ordered out, they noticed a gun in the glovebox that they recovered and rendered safe, the director said.
They also found a large machete under the driver’s seat, he said.
The .40-caliber Taurus handgun was loaded with seven bullets in the magazine and one in the chamber, Speziale said.
The juvenile and man who was sitting in the back seat were released.
Colon, meanwhile, was taken into custody on weapons charges, the director said.
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