Drug dealer who ran red light caught with loaded gun: BPD
Arthur Mitchell told police he had been selling "rock" in West Oakland for a month "to make ends meet," BPD wrote.
Berkeley police seized 55 bindles of crack cocaine and a loaded Glock handgun during a traffic stop for a driver who ran a red light in recent weeks, authorities report.
On March 16, a BPD officer saw Arthur Mitchell, 34, "speeding and running a red light" at 9:15 a.m., according to charging papers.
Berkeley police pulled Mitchell over near Adeline and Stuart streets in South Berkeley and he "began to become physically combative with officers during a pat down search for weapons," BPD wrote.
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After his arrest, police searched Mitchell's shoulder bag and found a loaded Glock as well as 55 bindles of cocaine, according to court papers.
Mitchell told police he had been selling "rock" in West Oakland for a month "to make ends meet," BPD wrote. The gun, he said, was for protection.
Arthur Mitchell. BPD
Mitchell is a felon with several convictions for drug sales dating back more than a decade, police wrote.
As a result, he is prohibited from having guns or ammunition.
Police searched Mitchell's Berkeley home after his arrest and found a 31-round extended magazine that was fully loaded, according to charging papers.
The Alameda County district attorney's office charged Mitchell with four felonies related to gun possession and drug sales, according to court papers.
Mitchell's bail was set at $185,000 and he is no longer in custody, according to court records.
He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing April 16.
Berkeley police have seized nearly 30 guns so far this year, according to department data.
