Members of the Monticello Police, with assistance from the New York State Police, arrested Elgin “Ghost” Cotto, 34, of Champlin, Minnesota, on Wednesday on a warrant in connection with a Feb. 28 traffic stop.
During the February incident, Cotto was stopped by Monticello Police for a vehicle and traffic violation on Fulton Street in the Village of Monticello, said Lt. Mark Johnstone.
A check of Cotto’s driver license status at that time showed that he was wanted by Hennepin County Sheriff Office in Minnesota on a felony warrant charging him with fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, Johnstone said.
Cotto was arrested later extradited back to Minnesota. At the time of Cotto’s arrest officers had also recovered a loaded 9mm “Star” handgun from underneath another parked vehicle, near where Cotto had been stopped, Johnstone said.
A follow-up investigation showed Cotto had been in possession of the recovered loaded firearm and he had intentionally thrown it from the vehicle he was driving before he was stopped by Monticello Police that evening, police said.
He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence. He is being held at the Sullivan County Jail without bail pending further action in Sullivan County Court.
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