Officer James Serio spotted the 2017 Acura sedan with tinted windows in the area of eastbound Route 46 and Bergen Turnpike shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday, Police Chief James Walters said.
Serio activated his lights and siren, stopping the vehicle on the other side of the Hackensack River bridge in Ridgefield Park, he said.
Jamir Budd, 21, of Virginia Beach, VA, had a driver's license on him and proof of insurance on his phone but no registration, the chief said.
Rather than give him a ticket, he said, Serio suggested Budd search the sedan for the registration.
Budd opened the glove box while telling the officer he had a gun in it, Walters said.
So Serio had him out get out and stand with backup Officer Gaetano Fernandes while he retrieved the weapon -- a Sig-Sauer P320 with a 17-round magazine loaded with hollow-point bullets, the chief said.
Budd was charged with weapons and ammo offenses and given summonses for using a hand-held cellphone and having an obstructed windshield and no proof of registration.
He was then sent to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Hackensack Towing impounded the vehicle for police.
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