Crime & Safety
Conshohocken PD Finds Loaded Gun in Car of Ex-Con during Traffic Stop
Officer pulled vehicle over on Harry Street.
Conshohocken Police arrested a Philadelphia man Wednesday, after they say they found a loaded Smith and Wesson .40 cal semiautomatic weapon under the driver seat of his vehicle.
A CPD officer was patrolling the area of Harry Street and East 4th Avenue at about 8 a.m. when he spotted a silver Oldsmobile Intrigue with blacked out windows that was missing an expiration sticker. The officer ran the vehicle's registration, and when it came back as having expired in July 2012, he initiated a traffic stop.
As the officer approached the vehicle, he could see the driver "moving around" inside the vehicle, a report said. The driver then rolled down all of his windows with the exception of his driver's side window, which he told the officer was broken.
The officer identified the driver as Gerald Maurice Freeman, 21, of the 5100 block of Larchwood Avenue, Philadelphia, and asked him if he had any priors and if there was anything illegal in the vehicle. Larchwood answered that there was not, but that he had a prior arrest for drugs while in school, the report said.
The officer returned to his vehicle to run a background check, and found that Freeman had been arrested for the sale of firearms in 2009. Court documents also show that Freeman was convicted that same year for carrying firearms without a license, a felony, and related charges. While obtaining this information, the officer reported that he saw Freeman continuing to move around inside the vehicle.
The officer then asked Freeman to step outside of his vehicle, and advised that he was going to perform a pat down for his own safety, to which Freeman complied, the report said. Although Freeman told the officer that he was not allowed to search the Oldsmosible, the officer stated in his report that he was concerned for his own safety, since he could not see through the driver's side glass, where Freeman would be returning following the stop.
The officer then opened the driver side door, where he observed the butt and magazine of a firearm under the driver's seat. The officer then drew his firearm and took Freeman into custody, and confirmed that Freeman was on probation for possession of a firearm and that he did not have a permit to carry it.
Freeman was unable to post bail and was transported to the county prison. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing with Magisterial District Judge Deborah A. Lukens on Aug. 20 at 1:15 p.m, where he faces charges of prohibited possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm with out a license, and a pair of vehicle citations.
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