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Victor Rocha, 21, of of Spring, TX was stopped by Officer Joseph Convery near the corner of Route 46 and Grand Street in Little Ferry shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday for having heavily tinted front windows, Police Chief James Walters said.
Rocha said he'd come from Times Square and was in the area for work, the chief said. A passenger said they were staying at the Knights Inn, he added.
Rocha told Convery he owned the Chevy SUV, but a computer check showed a different registered owner, Walters said. He then claimed he'd just bought it, the chief said.
Rocha also originally denied having any firearms but then admitted there was a gun under the driver's seat, he said.
What turned out to be a loaded 9mm Glock 43X was "located in plain view on the driver floorboard," Walters said.
Police also found an ammo magazine in the console, as well as a box of 10 hollow-point rounds in a backpack on the back seat, he added.
A passenger took possession of the vehicle, the chief said.
Rocha, meanwhile, was sent to the Bergen County Jail, where he remained Monday awaiting a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on illegal weapons and ammunition possession counts.
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