Police chasing a vehicle that sped away from a traffic stop said a loaded firearm was thrown from the fleeing car at about 7 p.m. Friday.
Citizens in the La Grande Princess area saw the pistol being discarded and called police to report it.
Mario T. Magras, age 18 of Estate Catherine’s Rest, and two 17-year-old male minors were arrested and charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm.
According to police reports, the incident began at a traffic enforcement checkpoint when a Consumers and Licensing Affairs law enforcement officer stopped a red Suzuki Aerio that was missing a front license plate.
When the officer approached the vehicle the driver sped off. The officer pursued the vehicle and an object was thrown from it. The chase ended without incident in the residential area of Golden Rock.
Saturated patrol officers arrived on the scene, searched the vehicle and found a fully loaded magazine and additional ammunition.
Meanwhile, concerned citizens called police emergency 911 and said they saw the chase and saw an object being thrown from the car. The object landed on the sidewalk near Metro Motors. The citizens said the object was a firearm. Forensic technicians retrieved the weapon and identified it as a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber firearm, which was fully loaded. The weapon matches the magazine and ammunition found in the vehicle, police said.
Magras was held on a $25,000 bail and remanded to the Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility. The minors were remanded to the Youth Rehabilitation Facility pending further court action.
