Two out-of-town teenagers were arrested April 3 after they admitted to having guns in their car.
After pulling them over, police discovered that Richard Easson, 18, of Glen Rock and Thomas Taormina, 19, of Passaic had more than a busted license plate light.
The teens had a knife, brass knuckles and two plastic guns in the car, both made to look like real firearms, Detective Capt. Steven Sabo said.
"They both looked real. One could be used to discharge projectiles, possibly bullets depending on how it was altered," he said.
Police found the weapons shortly after 1:14 a.m. when Officer John Peterson stopped the men, traveling west on Palisade Avenue.
Easson, the driver, was tailgating another car and Peterson couldn’t read his license plate because the light above it was out, according to reports.
Peterson stopped the car on North Woodland Street and noticed Easson acting suspicious and breathing heavy. And after a brief conversation with Easson and his passenger Taormina, the officer reported that the men were heading the wrong way home.
After asking Easson for his license and registration, Taormina, the only passenger, had something else for police.
He reached into his pocket and handed over a six-inch folding knife.
Officer Chris Kedersha arrived as backup and asked the men if they had any other weapons on them or in their car.
Easson admitted to having two guns in the car’s locked glove box, police said. Officers found the guns and after a further search of the car, discovered brass knuckles in the center console.
Both men were arrested.
Police determined that the guns were not the real thing but altered to look real. One had a barrel taped with black electrical tape and the other was a revolver style cap gun, Sabo said.
Easson was charged with possession of imitation firearms, possession of prohibited weapons for the brass knuckles and issued motor summonses.
Taormina was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon for the knife. He also had an $80 outstanding warrant out of Ridgefield Park.
Both men were released. No bail was set.
