Arrest carried out by multi-agency task force
NEWARK -- A 26-year-old city man was arrested Sunday night after he was seen with a gun, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said.
Law enforcement with the department's Violence Reduction Initiative responded to a report of a man with a gun at Norfolk and Hartford streets around 9:30 p.m. The initiative consists of personnel from the FBI, state parole, State Police and the Essex County prosecutor's office and sheriff's department.
Officers spotted a car matching the a description, including a license plate number, of the one the man was seen travelling in and followed it for several minutes before it parked.
The driver was held by police as a passenger, Ishmeel Scott, left the car, removing an item from his seatbelt and tossing it onto the driver's seat, Glover said. Scott was arrested after the item, a 9-mm pistol, was recovered, Glover added. The driver, who did not know about the gun, was released.
"For every gun that we take off our city streets, we have the possibility of saving a life. The work that this collaborative team of officers is doing is nothing less than spectacular and I am proud to have such a team of officers working in our city," said Police Director Eugene Venable.
Scott may be charged with additional offenses. Police are asking that anyone with information about this or any other crime call the department's 24-hour Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 877 NWK-TIPS (877 695-8477) or NWK-GUNS (877 695-4867).
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook
