KEY LARGO, Fla. – Two Homestead men were arrested Tuesday night after a deputy found a stolen gun in a van during a traffic stop in the Florida Keys, Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said.
Deputy Cody Kerns was on patrol when he stopped a black Chevrolet Avalanche traveling north at mile marker 104 in Key Largo. Herrin said the truck's license plate light was out.
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The driver, Charles Hanna, 34, said he was driving the truck for a co-worker, but a check of his license revealed that it had been suspended, Herrin said.
As Kerns was questioning Hanna, a transit van pulled up behind them. The driver, Jacquelyn McCormick, 43, said she knew Hanna's license was suspended, but he let Hanna drive anyways, Herrin said.
Kerns said he smelled marijuana coming from the van and asked the men if they had any weapons in their possession. McCormick said he had a Luger 9mm handgun in the van's center console, Herrin said.
A check of the gun's serial numbers revealed that it had been stolen in a vehicle burglary in Florida City, Herrin said.
Kerns also found a backpack with a container of marijuana in the back seat of the truck, Herrin said. There was paperwork with Hanna's name on it inside the backpack, but Hanna claimed it wasn't his, Herrin said.
Both men were arrested. McCormick faces charges of grand theft of a firearm and allowing someone to drive a motor vehicle without a valid license. Hanna faces charges of driving without a valid license and possession of marijuana.