Busy Morning In Mount Vernon Gives Bad Guys A Case Of The Mondays

MOUNT VERNON, NY — We are not sure how your Monday went, but Mount Vernon police are glad to have this day behind them.

On the other hand, three illegal guns were taken off the streets and four felony arrests were made during a string of three increasingly bizarre incidents in the early morning hours.

The first incident occurred shortly before 2 a.m., starting with a simple traffic stop. As the officers approached the stopped car, however, the driver sped off, according to the officers. Police were able to locate the car again a short time later.

Two illegal firearms and a "substantial quantity" of cannabis was recovered from the car, according to police. The driver of the vehicle, Demar Bryan, 36, and his passenger, Jeremy Blake, 30, both from Mount Vernon, were arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd degree and criminal possession of cannabis in the 3rd degree. Bryan was also charged with resisting arrest and traffic violations. Both men were lodged in Mount Vernon and were scheduled to be arraigned later today.

Soon after, around 3:20 a.m., officers were investigating an illegally parked vehicle near South 5th Avenue and West 5th Street, when they saw a person sleeping inside of the vehicle. As officers continued to investigate, they noticed a handgun sitting on the sleeping man's lap, police said. Officers were able to open the door of the car and safely recover the handgun.

The sleeping man, Jowayne Wallace, did not have a permit to possess the handgun, according to officials. The 28-year-old Mount Vernon man was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the 2nd degree. He was also scheduled to be arraigned later today.

Finally, as officers were still finishing up with the second illegal handgun incident of the morning, there was a call for an activated burglar alarm on East Sandford Blvd. MVPD responded and saw two people inside of a closed gas station removing merchandise from shelves in the store. Officers also noted that the front window of the store was shattered.

The two men inside, identified as Angelo McNair, 47, and Michael Wallace, 49, both from Mount Vernon, were taken into custody. McNair and Wallace were both charged with burglary in the 3rd degree.

Mount Vernon detectives are also investigating an earlier break-in at the same location.