A routine Saturday traffic stop in Gresham turned into anything but routine when officers say they pulled a handgun, roughly two dozen grams of suspected cocaine and a stash of items linked to drug dealing out of a black Mercedes near SE Stark Street and SE 162nd Avenue. The driver left the scene in the back of a patrol car, booked on a stack of felony allegations.
According to the Gresham Police Department, officers stopped a black 2014 Mercedes after spotting what they describe as a baggie of cocaine in plain view on the car’s floorboard. During a search incident to arrest, officers reported finding a Ruger LCP .380 pistol, approximately 24 grams of suspected cocaine, cash and “multiple items consistent with drug distribution.” Police say the driver also produced a U.S. passport card that did not belong to him and admitted the substance was cocaine. He was lodged on suspicion of delivery, manufacture and possession of cocaine, felon in possession of a firearm, identity theft, a commercial drug offense, two felony warrants and felony driving while suspended, according to the Gresham Police Department.
What Officers Say They Found
Officers photographed and catalogued the items shown in the department’s short video, including the small semi-automatic handgun recovered during the search. The roughly 24 grams of suspected cocaine cleared a weight line that prosecutors often point to when arguing distribution instead of personal use. Local agencies have been touting similar proactive cases. In April, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office reported seizing firearms along with suspected cocaine and other drugs in a separate investigation.
Charges And What They Can Mean
Gresham police say the driver was booked on multiple felony counts but did not release his name in the social media post. Under Oregon law, people with felony convictions are barred from possessing firearms, as outlined in ORS 166. State drug statutes treat 10 grams or more of cocaine as a quantity that can bump a case into higher sentencing categories and support delivery or commercial drug allegations, according to ORS Chapter 475.
Where It Happened And Local Policy
The stop happened at the intersection that marks the edge of Gresham’s West Rockwood Drug-Free Zone. The Gresham Revised Code defines the zone as starting at the south curb line of SE Stark Street where it meets the west curb line of SE 162nd Avenue. The Gresham Police Department regularly shares arrest and investigation summaries through public alert channels and social media, including FlashAlert. Details on the city’s drug-free zone ordinance are laid out in the Gresham Revised Code.
The department’s post did not include the suspect’s full booking information. Prosecutors will review the case and decide on formal charges, and for now the Facebook video and write-up remain the primary public account of what unfolded at that Gresham intersection.
