Syracuse, NY -- A traffic stop for a loud muffler Monday night ended with the driver facing two felony weapons charges and a loaded illegal handgun taken off the streets, Syracuse police said. Derrell W. Beckwith, 23, of 110 Eloise Terrace, was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon after his 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix was pulled...
Syracuse, NY -- A traffic stop for a loud muffler Monday night ended with the driver facing two felony weapons charges and a loaded illegal handgun taken off the streets, Syracuse police said.
Derrell W. Beckwith, 23, of 110 Eloise Terrace, was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon after his 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix was pulled over about 8:30 p.m. in the 2700 block of South Salina Street.
Officers Donald Patti and Brendan Cope, both members of the Syracuse Police Department’s crime reduction team, heard the car’s loud muffler as it turned onto South Salina Street from West Brighton Avenue and pulled the car over, Sgt. Tom Connellan said.
Police discovered that Beckwith’s license was revoked and removed him from the car, Connellan said. As the officers began to take an inventory of property in the vehicle prior to having it towed from the scene, a semi-automatic Smith & Wesson handgun was found under a cushion next to the driver’s seat, Connellan said.
The gun, which had its serial number defaced, was loaded, Connellan said.
Beckwith was the victim of a shooting twice in the past, according to Post-Standard archives.
On Nov. 2, Beckwith walked into the Crouse Hospital emergency room with four gunshot wounds to his thighs. According to the news story on that shooting, Beckwith refused to give any details to the shooting.
"When asked anything (but his name), Beckwith closed his eyes and laid still," a Syracuse police officer wrote in the report on the shooting.
In a shooting May 30, 2006, Beckwith underwent emergency surgery for a single gunshot that caused three wounds. Beckwith was driven to University Hospital in that shooting. Police at the time said Beckwith did not provide any information on the shooting.