Police said a loaded semi-automatic rifle was seized after a traffic stop last month.
Humberto Guerra Jr., 28, of Silver Spring and Freya Marla Casanova, 41, of an unknown address, face criminal charges filed March 1, per a release from the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD).
At about 11:25 p.m. on Feb. 17, officers saw a Toyota Camry going eastbound on Wisteria Drive and Great Seneca Highway in Germantown, according to police.
Officers initiated a traffic stop for suspended registration in the Middlebrook Road area.
Police said officers made contact with Casanova, the driver, and Guerra, the passenger and determined the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) issued a tag pick-up order for lacking MVA automobile requirements.
Casanova was told the car would be towed, in accordance with department procedures, and police said Guerra was released.
According to police, a consensual search of Casanova’s belongings found drug paraphernalia containing methamphetamine, which gave officers probable cause to search the car.
The search of the car found a loaded semi-automatic rifle, with a 50-round drum magazine in a gym bag, police said.
Officers determined the rifle was reported stolen out of Alexandria, Virginia, and that it was Guerra who possessed the rifle. MCPD said Guerra is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
MCPD said Casanova possessed the drug paraphernalia.
Just last week, police said that following a traffic stop, authorities seized more than 2,000 suspected fentanyl pills in total from a Silver Spring man.
