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Officer Joseph Convery stopped a 2018 Chevy sedan driven by Christopher Nazario, 36, of Reading, PA after he failed to signal a turn onto Bergen Turnpike near the Capri Inn, Police Chief James Walters said.
Nazario first claimed to be an EMS member and then an employee for the mayor of New York City's "Office of Criminal Justice," Walters said.
Nazario also told him he'd been on vacation in Florida and "stayed at the motel to use the Jacuzzi to relax," the chief said.
The officer said he got Nazario's consent to search the vehicle, then asked whether he had any firearms in it.
"No, they are at home," Convery said he told him.
Lt. John Andronico and K9 Timmy joined Convery, who found a 9mm Glock handgun in a locked box in the trunk, as well as two 16-found magazines with 10 rounds in each and a hollow-point bullet box filled with 30 rounds, the officer said.
Rosario was arrested and his vehicle was impounded. He was charged with illegal possession of a handgun, a high-capacity magazine and "dum-dum" bullets and sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
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