Police arrested a man Saturday evening on Capitol Hill after his expired license plates caught the attention of officers, who soon discovered he was driving while high on marijuana cookies while transporting a felon and an illegally stowed firearm in his car.
East precinct Anti-Crime Team officers were on patrol Saturday night when they spotted an SUV with expired plates driving near 10th Avenue and East Pike St. Officers Matt Blackburn and Brian Sunderland, and Sgt Ben Morrison stopped the SUV and began speaking with the driver.
Sgt. Morrison spotted a gun lying on the floor of the SUV and asked the driver and passenger to exit the car. Officers searched the SUV and found one gun under the passenger seat, where another man–who is a convicted felon, and prohibited from handling firearms–had just been sitting. The driver told police the gun was his, and officers released the passenger from the scene pending further investigation.
While police were talking to the driver, they noticed he was showing signs of impairment and arrested him for DUI. The driver later admitted to having eaten two marijuana infused cookies earlier in the evening.
Officers booked the driver into King County Jail for Illegal carrying of a firearm, DUI, and driving with a suspended license.