49°
Officer Sebastian Castano stopped the 2014 Ford Mustang near the corner of 91st Street and Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen.
Castano, backed up by Officer Tommy Makdis, questioned the pair after a Glock 19 was spotted in plain view as the driver, Desmond A. Fitzpatrick, 25, retrieved his paperwork from the glove compartment, Capt. Michael Martic said.
Fitzpatrick and passenger Darius T. Hill, also 25, were both removed from the vehicle and arrested, the captain said.
A search of the vehicle turned up a second loaded Glock 19 in the trunk, Martic said.
Both handguns were loaded with hollow-point bullets, he said, adding that there were also several 223 Remington rifle rounds scattered throughout the car.
Fitzpatrick and Hill said they'd driven up from Covington, GA to visit family in East Brunswick and the Bronx.
Fitzpatrick said the gun in the trunk was legal and registered to him, according to Martic. Hill said he'd bought the gun in the glove compartment in Georgia illegally, the captain added.
Both men were charged with transporting an unsecured handgun and possession of both a high-capacity magazine and hollow points.
Fitzpatrick was freed pending court action.
Hill was also charged with possession of a stolen firearm and sent to the Bergen County Jail.
The Mustang was impounded.
Martic, meanwhile, thanked police from North Bergen, Cliffside Park and Ridgefield for providing backup.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Pascack Valley and receive free news updates.
