A car that was stopped in St. Catharines for having improperly registered licence plates turned out to also contain a handgun, a knife and drugs, Niagara Regional Police say.
At 2:53 a.m. on May 27, a patrol officer assigned to 1 District (St. Catharines / Thorold) was on general patrol in the area of Church Street near Niagara Street when they observed a 2006 Audi A4 with improper plates.
A traffic stop was conducted and upon speaking with the driver several packages of individually wrapped cannabis were observed inside the vehicle, police said in a news release.
The driver was placed under arrest and the vehicle was searched.
A fully loaded .38-calibre “snubnosed revolver” was located under the driver’s seat, police say.
In addition, 142 grams of suspected cannabis, 45 grams of suspected cocaine, 8.5 grams of suspected fentanyl, and a 15-inch hunting knife with a 10-inch fixed blade were recovered.
Tyrese Amos-Ross Fisher, 19, of Brampton, who was the driver and lone occupant in the vehicle was arrested and charged with:
- Possession of a restricted or prohibited firearm knowingly not holding a licence
- Possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition
- Careless storage of a firearm, weapon, prohibited device
- Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle
- Possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking
- Possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking
- Possession for the purpose of selling cannabis
Fisher was held for a bail hearing that took place later in the day on May 27 via video link to the John Sopinka Courthouse in Hamilton. He has since been remanded into the custody of Ontario Correctional Services.
None of the allegations have been tested in court and the accused is considered innocent unless proven guilty.