Paterson NJ police recently arrested an Elmwood Park man who reportedly threw a gun while being pursued by law enforcement officers.

The suspect is a 20-year-old resident of Elmwood Park, New Jersey. According to officials, two Paterson patrol officers observed the suspect commit a traffic offense by failing to use his turn signal as he turned onto East 19th Street in Paterson, New Jersey.

The Paterson officers stopped the suspect’s 2007 Honda Accord and intended to approach the vehicle. However, before the police officers could reach the car, the suspect allegedly dashed out of the driver’s side door and attempted to flee the scene.

The Paterson NJ cops chased after the suspect and reportedly saw that he was carrying a semi-automatic handgun.

Police officers eventually trapped the suspect in the driveway of a home on East 19th Street. The suspect then allegedly tried to discard the weapon by throwing it into the air. The gun reportedly hit a fence near the driveway and landed on the pavement in front of the officers.

Paterson NJ detectives seized the firearm, a black Springfield Armory USA XD-9 9mm handgun, and arrested the Elmwood Park NJ man.

While searching the suspect, police officers allegedly found him holding 490 glassine envelopes filled with suspected heroin and almost $1,500 in cash.

The suspect now faces numerous criminal charges, including drug charges for possession with intent to distribute heroin and a criminal weapons offense for unlawful possession of a weapon. If the suspect is convicted on the weapons offense charges, he could potentially be sentenced to several years in NJ State Prison.

For more information about this case, see the NJ.com article, “Tossed Gun Lands in Front of Cops Chasing Man, 20, Police Say.”