DOVER, DE - A North Carolina man was arrested on multiple gun and drug-related charges in Sussex County.
On Wednesday, August 7th, at approximately 1:15am, a Delaware State trooper was on patrol and saw a Jeep Cherokee exit the Rodney Village Shopping Center parking lot onto POW/MIA Parkway without it's headlights on.
DSP say the vehicle continued driving without it's headlights on and failed to use turn signals when turning onto Charles Polk Road.
The trooper pulled the car over to initiate a traffic stop. The driver was identified by authorities as 33-year-old Ralphon Owens of Greensboro, North Carolina. While speaking to Owens, the trooper said they smelt a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and saw plastic baggies containing a "leafy green plant-like substance consistent with marijuana in plain view".
During a search of the car, the trooper found approximately 7 grams of suspected marijuana and a loaded 0.22 caliber handgun. According to DSP, a computer check revealed that the handgun was stolen from Los Angeles County, CA.
Ralphon Owens was charged with the following, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 7, and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $7,003 secured bond.
- Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon-Firearm
- Possession of Deadly Weapon by a Person Prohibited who also Possesses a Controlled Substance (Felony)
- Receiving a Stolen Firearm
- Consumption of Personal Use Quantity of Marijuana in a Vehicle
- Failure to Have Lights on When Required
- Failure to Signal
