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Haledon Sgt. Timothy Lindberg stopped the 1998 Ford Expedition on Central Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday after the driver failed to signal a turn and then ran a red light, Lt. George Guzman said.
Lindberg “also noticed that the rear-seat passenger was littering by throwing ashes of a cigar out of the window,” Guzman said.
The sergeant was joined by Officer Andrea Len, Special Police Capt. John Lindberg, Special Police Officers Michael Moore and Kris Duci and William Paterson police.
The passenger, 21-year-old Dante Barker, of East Orange, initially resisted attempts to take him into custody for providing a fake name and eventually was subdued, Guzman said.
He was carrying six folds of heroin, the lieutenant said.
Smelling pot coming from inside, Lindberg searched the Expedition and found a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun in the middle console, Guzman said.
Police later discovered that the gun had been reported stolen out of Georgia, he added.
Lindberg also found 16 Oxycodone pills in a defaced prescription bottle and two vials of marijuana, the lieutenant said.
The driver, identified as Xavier Gibbs, 21, also of East Orange, was arrested after he claimed responsibility for the stolen handgun and the drugs, Guzman said.
Police found him carrying $1,665, which was Guzman said was seized for forfeiture.
The gun was being submitted for ballistics analysis and tracing, he said.
Gibbs was charged with drug and weapons offenses, as well as receiving stolen property, before being sent to the Passaic County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson.
Baker, meanwhile, was turned over to Irvington police on a warrant after being charged with heroin possession, resisting arrest and hindering apprehension.
“I am proud of the hard-work and dedication my officers demonstrate everyday," Police Angelo J. Daniele said. "Our police department is deeply dedicated to keeping Haledon a safe place to both live, travel and work."
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ALSO SEE: A Little Ferry police sergeant found an ex-con carrying a loaded handgun during a traffic stop on Friday, authorities said.
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