Kenilworth Police Tackle Fleeing Man, Wrestle Loaded Gun Away

KENILWORTH, NJ — A Newark man was arrested for being armed with a handgun loaded with hollow point bullets and having marijuana in his car on Wednesday night, Kenilworth Police reported.

Kenilworth Police stopped Claude Wallace, 36 in his car on Kenilworth Boulevard around 10:25 p.m. on Feb. 1 for operating an unregistered vehicle and not observing a traffic control device.

During the stop, Sgt. Michael Scanielo smelled raw marijuana inside the car and when he began asking Wallace about it he became nervous and abruptly pulled out an object from the center console, police reported.

Wallace then refused to comply with officers verbal commands before running away on foot. Patrolman Ryan Kernan who was also on scene as a backup unit reportedly saw the handgun in Wallace's hand and tackled him in the roadway.

While struggling with Wallace and trying to arrest him, police were able to wrestle away the loaded handgun and secure it.

Wallace was arrested and charged with several offenses including Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, Possession of Hollow Point Bullets, Resisting Arrest, Certain Persons with Firearm Prohibited and Possession of Marijuana.

“Thanks to the quick actions and decisions of both Sgt. Scanielo and Officer Kernan no one was seriously injured in a situation that could have ended very differently,” Kenilworth Police Chief John Zimmerman said.

A firearms trace on the weapon found that it was reported stolen out of Georgia in 2016.

Wallace was also issued numerous summonses for motor vehicle violations and transported to the Union County Jail pending a first appearance in the Union County Superior Court.

(Images via Kenliworth Police: Claude Wallace, 36, of Newark)

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