N.Y. Police Gun Stolen in 1979 Recovered During Mich. Traffic Stop

An impaired driving suspect tried to pull a handgun during a Michigan State Police traffic stop near Warren, and it was discovered that the gun was stolen from a Syracuse police station nearly 50 years ago.

By Mitch Hotts

Source The Macomb Daily, Mount Clemens, Mich.

Sept. 2, 2025

2 min read

What to know

Michigan State Police recovered a handgun during a Warren traffic stop, and authorities discovered it had been stolen from a Syracuse, New York, police station in 1979.
The alleged intoxicated driver resisted arrest and tried to pull the weapon from his underwear before troopers subdued him.
The suspect was booked into the Macomb County Jail as prosecutors review charges.

An impaired driving suspect tried to pull a gun during a struggle with Michigan State Police troopers following a traffic stop near Warren, and authorities discovered that the handgun had been stolen from the Syracuse Police Department in 1979.

A handgun reported stolen from a New York police station nearly 50 years ago was recovered from a motorist’s underwear during a routine traffic stop in Warren, according to Michigan State Police.

Troopers spotted a driver making an improper turn on to a residential street near Dequindre and Eight Mile roads just after midnight on Aug. 27. The driver accelerated to 45 mph in a 25-mph zone, police said.

After stopping the driver, he displayed “numerous signs” of intoxication before admitting he had consumed alcohol, troopers said. He was given a field sobriety test which showed multiple clues of impairment.

“When taking the suspect into custody, during handcuffing, he resisted arrest and attempted to break free and run,” troopers said in a news release.

They tackled the fleeing motorist and briefly struggled with him on the ground police added.

During the fight, the suspect attempted to pull a handgun from his underwear. Troopers were able to wrestle the weapon away from the suspect without injury.

The gun turned out to have been stolen from the Syracuse Police Department in New York in 1979. The unnamed suspect was transported to the Macomb County Jail pending prosecutor’s office review.

_________________________

Visit www.macombdaily.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.