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Street Crime Unit Detectives William Hermann and Anthony Castronova stopped a speeding SUV on Lafayette Street around 7:30 p.m. Saturday after it blew past a stop sign and other traffic-control devices, Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said.
As they approached the vehicle, the driver -- identified as city resident Rammfis Luna, 45 – tried to hide what turned out to be a .380-caliber handgun, Speziale said.
They arrested Luna, who the director said was also carrying a small amount of cocaine.
They charged him with drug and weapons offenses, issued him traffic summonses and sent him to the Passaic County Jail.
Around 10:40 p.m., Street Crime Unit Detectives Mohammad Bashir and John Traynor saw two people toss guns near a parked vehicle as they approached them in the area of East 22nd Street and 9th Avenue, Speziale said.
The pair then tried to tip away toward 10th Avenue, he said.
Bashir took Ramir Williams, 19, and a 16-year-old boy into custody while Traynor recovered the loaded weapons, the director said.
Police charged Williams with weapons offenses and signed delinquency complaints against the juvenile for weapons possession, he said.
Speziale praised the work of his detectives.
“I am proud of their abilities to see things the way they are and being endowed with the skills to handle these dangerous situations,” he said.
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UPDATE: High winds whipped a roaring fire that tore through a Paterson neighborhood Saturday night, destroying five houses, severely damaging a sixth and displacing 59 residents.
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