Suspicious vehicle parked in front of Brockton hotel leads to illegal firearms arrest

BROCKTON —Officials arrested a teenager from Portland, Maine on illegal firearms charges after he was caught idling in a car outside a Brockton hotel Wednesday morning, Massachusetts State Police announced in a press release.

While conducting a patrol of the hotel parking lot on Westgate Drive, state troopers spotted a Ford EcoSport parked in front of the main entrance to the hotel at around 12:55 a.m. on June 12, police said.

When troopers engaged the sole occupant of the vehicle to inquire why the vehicle was there and who it belonged to, police said they spotted an open folding knife close to the man's left hand.

The officers removed the suspect from the car and found a loaded .380 caliber pistol in his sweatshirt pocket during a search, police said.

The suspect, identified as a 19-year-old teen from Portland, ME, did not possess a license to carry a firearm and was subsequently booked on charges of carrying a loaded firearm, possession of a firearm without a license and possession of ammunition without FID.