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Officer Marvin Monroig stopped a speeding BMW 320 with North Carolina license plates after the driver ignored a “No Turn on Red” sign going from Midland Avenue to Passaic Street and then blew through a light at Palisade Avenue shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, Capt. Mario Pozo said.
Backup Officer Elihud Santiago spotted a black Taurus G3C 9mm handgun in the glove compartment as the driver, Chad Thomas Stillwell, 51, of Clover, SC, retrieved his paperwork, the captain said.
The gun was loaded with five hollow-point rounds, he noted.
The officers arrested Stillwell and his passenger, Trevor Elam, a 46-year-old ex-con with a lengthy criminal history that dates back more than two decades, records show.
Both remained held Monday in the Bergen County Jail, charged with illegal weapons and ammo offenses. Elam also was charged with having drug paraphernalia.
The gun was being sent for ballistics testing as part of a continuing investigation by Garfield police detectives, Pozo said.
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