Hempstead man stopped for speeding had loaded gun, cops say

A traffic stop for allegedly speeding led to the arrest of a Hempstead man after a loaded 9-mm handgun was discovered in the glove box of his vehicle late Monday night in Garden City, Nassau County police said.

Edwin Armando Gomez, 23, of Wellington Street, was arrested after the stop by Garden City police officers on Stewart Avenue at about 11:30 p.m. He was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and issued “multiple” summonses for traffic violations, police said. He faces arraignment Tuesday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Police said that officers saw the 2008 Nissan Maxima driven by Gomez speeding on Clinton Road and conducted the traffic stop on Stewart Avenue, where they discovered Gomez was driving with a suspended license. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of the loaded handgun, police said.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”