Tense Moment: Route 17 Driver Reaches For Console With Loaded Gun It It, Mahwah PD Says

A tense moment during a late-night traffic stop on Route 17 in Mahwah ended in the arrest of an out-of-state driver who had a loaded gun and two high-capacity magazines in the console of his minivan, authorities said.

Ronnie Edmondson
Photo Credit: *Jerry DeMarco / INSET: MPD*

Jerry DeMarco

08/21/2023 11:32 a.m.

Ronnie S. Edmondson, 36, of Cambridge, MD, opened the lid of his 2022 Chrysler Voyager’s console, presumably to retrieve his cellphone, after Officer Michael Silano stopped him for speeding on the southbound highway just prior to the West Ramapo Avenue exit late last week, Capt. Guido Bussinelli said.

Spotting the 9mm Taurus handgun, Silano immediately pulled out his service weapon and commanded Edmonson to exit the minivan with his hands up, the captain said Monday, Aug. 21.

Edmondson initially refused but then exited slowly, Bussinelli said.

He ended up complying with Silano as fellow Mahwah Police Lt. Keith Iorio, Sgt. Richard Albro and Officers Travis Canning, Christopher Monico, Jason Stepp and Joseph Simeone all converged on the scene, the captain said.

Edmonson remained held Monday in the Bergen County Jail, nearly four days after the arrest.

He’s charged with unlawful possession of both a handgun and a high-capacity magazine.

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