A traffic stop early Monday morning led to the arrest of two Oakland men with a gun, authorities say.
A Berkeley police officer on patrol Monday at about 12:25 a.m. observed a vehicle code violation in the 900 block of Ashby Avenue, near Seventh Street, police said. When the driver stopped to get gas, the officer approached the car to discuss the situation.
Sgt. Andrew Frankel of the Berkeley Police Department said the officer saw “an unrolled marijuana cigarette” inside the vehicle when he walked up to the car.
One of the men, 22-year-old Javon Lee, had gotten out of the car and onto his cellphone, while the driver, 22-year-old Edward Riley, went to pay for gas.
Frankel said the officer searched the vehicle after seeing the marijuana, and “found a firearm on the passenger seat underneath a bag where Lee had been sitting.”
Police arrested both men for “a number of firearm related charges.”
Lee appears to remain in custody with a bail of $170,000. No further information was available in the online jail log about Riley.
The arrest took place at the end of a busy weekend for Berkeley police, with two shootings and several arrested in relation to firearm activity.
