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Officers investigating a report of drug dealing approached Damian Lee Shirley, 31, Englewood Ave and Lafayette Place around 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, Police Lt. Fred Pulice said.
Shirley bolted, tossing a shoulder bag as he ran, the lieutenant said. He was captured and the 9mm handgun was found in the bag, Pulice said.
The 5-foot-4-inch, 200-pound Shirley served prison time for drug dealing and theft stemming from a December 2011 arrest, records show.
His criminal record also includes arrests for making terroristic threats, spitting at police and obstruction in December 2018, for resisting arrest -- among other offenses -- a year earlier and for promoting gambling and pot possession in December 2016.
Englewood police busted Shirley with illegal prescription drugs this past April and sent him to the Bergen County Jail, only to have a judge in Hackensack release him the same day.
This time, they charged Shirley with obstruction, resisting arrest, evidence tampering and weapons offenses, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He remained held in the Bergen County Jail on Monday, Dec. 5, pending court action.
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