Detectives Mohammed Bashir and Yamil Pimienta stopped Harry Alexander, 35, on Kearny Street near Union Avenue after his 2011 Jaguar blocked traffic around the corner, city Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said.
As they approached the vehicle, Pimienta spotted the 9mm semi-automatic Smith & Wesson pistol, he said.
He alerted Bashir and together the detectives quickly seized Alexander and secured the gun, Speziale said.
Alexander was booked and sent to the Passaic County Jail to await a first appearance on weapons possession charges.
The gun, meanwhile, was sent to the New Jersey State Police Ballistics Unit to determine whether it may have been used in any crimes.
It was one of four seized in four days by city detectives.
SEE: A Paterson man who bolted when city police detectives approached him became the fourth suspect in four nights caught in the city with a gun, authorities said.
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ALSO SEE: A fugitive wanted for shooting two men in Paterson four years ago was carrying a gun when city police captured him, authorities announced Monday.
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