A routine traffic stop Saturday in St. Paul turned into a surprise cache of drugs, ammo and a semiautomatic weapon.
About 11 a.m., officers in the St. Paul Police Department’s Eastern District stopped a car on the 1000 block of Beach Avenue.
The driver, Steven Michael Lincoln, 32, was driving with a canceled license and had been arrested by one of the attending officers in the past.
The passenger, Sherry Marie Thompson, 31, had a warrant for auto theft. Both were taken into custody.
As police searched the car, they discovered a semi-automatic compact gun loaded with 30 rounds hidden under the driver’s seat, a bullet-resistant vest, burglary tools, a large capacity ammunition magazine, methamphetamine, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia.
Lincoln was taken into custody without incident pending charges of illegal possession of a firearm, possession of controlled substance in addition to driving with a revoked license.
Lincoln’s record shows at least five convictions for driving with a revoked license and at least three DWI convictions as well as domestic assault and possessing illegal drugs.
