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Detectives Anthony Nestico and Ismael Kivanc found the first handgun and played prominent roles in seizing the second, Police Director Jerry Speziale said.
Nestico and Kivanc immediately smelled pot after pulling over a black Ford Taurus in the 700 block of East 19th Street for equipment violations just after 7 p.m. Thursday, Speziale said.
Moments later, they found a loaded 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen out of North Carolina, the director said.
They arrested the driver, 20-year-old Hector Trujillo.
The second arrest came just after midnight, when Nestico and Kivanc spotted three men across from the location of a “shots fired” alert in the 600 block of River Street, Speziale said.
As they approached, he said, one of the trio stuck something in his pocket and ran.
Kivanc, Nestico, and Officer John Sanabria chased the suspect – identified as Ronnie Amparo – who tossed the gun onto the roof of a building as he ran, Speziale said.
While Kivanc peeled off to secure the area, Nestico and Sanabria chased down Amparo on 6th Avenue near East 11th Street, he said.
Firefighters helped retrieve the weapon – a loaded .380-caliber handgun, Speziale said.
Both Trujillo and Amparo were charged with weapons offenses, among other counts, and ordered held in the Passaic County Jail pending first appearances in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson.
The recovered firearms were being submitted to the New Jersey State Police Ballistics Lab for further examination.
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WILD WEST: A series of pre-dawn shootings Saturday in Paterson in a little over an hour injured several people. Authorities wouldn’t initially say whether they believe the incidents are related.
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