Felon hit with new gun case after Berkeley car stop
The handgun, which was loaded with 16 rounds, had been reported stolen from Las Vegas, according to BPD.
A Berkeley traffic stop led to new charges this month for a longtime felon caught with drugs and a stolen gun, according to court papers.
On Jan. 18, a Berkeley police officer pulled over 57-year-old Maurice Scott at Delaware and Franklin streets in North Berkeley just before 8:15 p.m., BPD wrote in charging documents.
The officer said Scott's vehicle registration had been expired for six months and he had no valid license.
Inside his vehicle, police saw "several zip lock bags and an unsealed jar of marijuana," as well as "remnants of marijuana in plain view" throughout the front of the vehicle.
Police there was about a pound of marijuana in the vehicle in total along with nearly 22 grams of psychedelic mushrooms.
During a car search, Berkeley police also found a semiautomatic handgun, loaded with 16 rounds, that had been reported stolen from Las Vegas, according to BPD.
Scott told police he'd found the gun in Berkeley "but he planned on turning it in later," police wrote in charging papers.
Emilie Raguso
Scott, a resident of a northwest Berkeley homeless shelter program, was subsequently charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.
He is prohibited from owning guns due to his criminal record, authorities say.
Scott was sent to prison three times, according to charging papers: after convictions in 1996 and 2008 for drug sales and after a burglary conviction in 2006.
He was released on his own recognizance in connection with the new case and is scheduled for a plea hearing Feb. 9.
