New Bedford Man Arrested By State Police in Dartmouth for Gun, Drugs

DARTMOUTH — A New Bedford man was arrested on multiple charges after he was pulled over due to the dark window tint on the vehicle he was driving, leading authorities to find him illegally in possession of a gun and drugs.

Massachusetts State Police say that just after 3:30 p.m. on April 28, a trooper was observing traffic on I-195 in Dartmouth. They say the trooper’s attention was drawn to a white Toyota sedan “with window tint so dark that the trooper could not see into the vehicle, despite the daylight hour.”

The trooper got behind the vehicle and ran a check of the registration, which state police say revealed that the registered owner had a suspended driver’s license. The trooper pulled the vehicle over and confirmed with the driver and sole occupant, Edwin Polanco, 27, of New Bedford that his license was in fact suspended.

State police report that Polanco became increasingly anxious and reluctant to follow the trooper’s instructions, but eventually did step out of the vehicle. The trooper searched the vehicle, and state police say inside he located an open backpack belonging to Polanco with a large amount of marijuana inside of it. Also according to state police, as the trooper removed the marijuana from the backpack, he found a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition. Polanco’s license to carry a firearm had been suspended, and as a result, he was handcuffed and arrested.

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Polanco was scheduled to appear in New Bedford District Court on the following charges: carrying a loaded firearm; possession of a firearm in a felony; possession of a firearm without an FID card; possession of ammunition without an FID card; improper storage of a firearm; possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; operation of a motor vehicle with a suspended license; window tint violation (seven percent visible light transmission).