Loaded Handgun, Magazine Seized During Traffic Stop Investigation In Ocean County

BRICK, NJ — A Lakewood man has been charged with weapons possession after officers found him with a loaded handgun with a high-capacity magazine during a traffic stop, Brick police said Tuesday.

Victor M. Conde, 38, was arrested April 9 after the traffic stop, which happened after surveillance by the Brick Police Street Crimes Unit in Maple Leaf Park, Police Chief David Forrester said.

Street Crimes Unit officers were conducting generalized surveillance when they saw a suspicious vehicle, and after seeing "various traffic violations," Forrester said, the detectives called for a marked patrol unit to pull the vehicle over.

"During the stop, detectives developed heightened suspicion which led to the search of the vehicle," he said. Officers found a loaded 9mm handgun in the backseat with a high-capacity magazine, he said.

Conde was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a high-capacity magazine and certain person not to possess a firearm and taken to the Ocean County Jail, Forrester said. He has since been released under New Jersey Bail Reform rules.