Police Help Man Locked Out of Car, Find Illegal Gun

Saddle Brook police helped a man get back into his locked car and then arrested him after discovering an illegal "inoperative" gun, marijuana and pills under someone else's name in the vehicle, according to Deputy Police Chief Robert White.

Sgt. Leigh Cadigan was dispatched to 182 Market St. Sunday evening to help a driver who had locked himself out of his own car. Cadigan used a "lockout tool" to open the car and asked the driver, 18-year-old Dominick Agueros-Rega, of Lyndhurst, for identification and documents proving he owned the car.

Agueros-Rega "became frantic and began rummaging through the vehicle for his wallet" and quickly stuck two items from a backpack into his pockets, according to White. 

Cadigan then shined his flashlight into the car and spotted what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun in the opened backpack, according to White. A search also turned up three bags of marijuana, a bottle of Xanax pills prescribed to someone else and empty baggies frequently used for illegal drugs. The gun was a Walther P22 semi-automatic pistol that had been "rendered inoperative," according to White.

“Due to Sergeant Cadigan’s keen observations, an illegal handgun and drugs were removed from our streets," White said in a press release. "Even though the handgun was inoperative, the law prohibits it and the actor had no legitimate reason for having it in his possession."

Agueros-Rega was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, two counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of C.D.S. paraphernalia. He was released on his own recognizance and is due in Saddle Brook Municipal Court Dec. 3.