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As they approached the stopped vehicle at Halpin and North 4th streets, the detectives saw the 32-year-old driver, Jason King of Paterson, "reach towards the back seat," Passaic County Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik said.
The detective on the passenger side "was able to see the handle of handgun sticking out of an open backpack," Berdnik said.
The .40-caliber Glock handgun had been reported stolen out of Paterson last December, he said.
Also in the bag were 23 envelopes of heroin, the sheriff said.
The detectives took both King and his passenger, 29-year-old Keon Moses, also of Paterson, into custody.
"This fairly routine enforcement of a traffic law yielded drugs and a loaded Glock handgun," Berdnik said. "Taking a loaded weapon off our streets prevents the potential for yet another senseless act of gun violence."
King, who told the detectives he found the gun, was charged with weapons offenses, drug possession, receiving stolen property and possession of hollow-point bullets.
He and Moses -- who was found to have an active local warrant for aggravated assault -- were both taken to the Passaic County Jail pending further court action.
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