Gun was reported stolen in North Carolina, officials say
Essex County Sheriff's detectives made two arrests for drug and weapons offenses, authorities said (File photo)
Narcotic detectives were conducting surveillance at Bloomfield Avenue and North 16th Street in Bloomfield on Saturday when they spotted an illegally parked Cadillac Seville, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.
Detectives asked the driver, identified as 24-year-old Demetreous Lynch, to step out of the car and immediately noticed a loaded .45 caliber Millennium semi-automatic handgun on the floor of the driver's side, the sheriff said in a statement. The gun was reported stolen out of Charlotte, North Carolina in January 2009.
Authorities charged Lynch, of Irvington, with various offenses, including possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and receiving stolen property. He was also cited for illegal parking and having unsafe safety glass, the sheriff added.
Man arrested with heroin, loaded gun, sheriff says
In another undercover operation Friday outside a vacant building on North 9th Street in Newark, sheriff's detectives recognized 34-year-old Aquil Horn of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from past drug cases, according to Fontoura.
Horn went to an alley, opened an unlocked door and exchanged items in a plastic bag for cash after speaking to a man who walked by the building, the sheriff added. He also spoke to a woman before he went to his car and retrieved items that he exchanged with her for cash, Fontoura said.
Detectives suspected they saw two drug deals and detained Horn, according to the sheriff. In a bag in the alley, the officers found 75 envelopes of heroin, stamped with 'PASSION' in black ink.
According to Fontoura, a drug-sniffing sheriff's German Shepherd named "Yuma" indicated the possibility of other narcotics in Horn's car. Authorities said a further search was pending after they obtained a warrant.
Horn was ordered held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 bail, officials said. Bail for Lynch was set at $45,000.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.