LYNN — Two men were arrested on firearm and drug charges during a traffic stop Wednesday night, state police said.
The Massachusetts State Police Gang Unit arrested the two men after finding a handgun with a high capacity magazine and various narcotics in a rented sport utility vehicle that they were driving, state police said.
Shondel Holloway, 21, of Lynn, and Kemoni Boone, 21, of Malden, were each charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, possession of a large capacity feeding device, being felons in possession of a firearm, and conspiracy to violate narcotics laws.
Holloway was also charged with heroin trafficking and possession of a Class B narcotic with intent to distribute.
The MSP Gang Unit, which regularly assists Lynn Police with street-level enforcement of gang-, gun-, and drug-related offenses, had been aware of a recent uptick in shots fired incidents in North Shore cities when a Gang Unit trooper pulled over the SUV for speeding on Wednesday, state police said.
At about 6:40 p.m., a Gang Unit trooper saw a gray Dodge Durango with Virginia plates traveling at about 60 mph in a 35 mph zone on Route 107, which prompted the traffic stop. When the trooper approached the SUV, he saw the two occupants inside appeared to be nervous and were moving excessively, state police said.
The driver, Holloway, could not produce the car’s registration and relayed that the car was a rental that belonged to a relative, and the passenger, Boone, could not provide an ID, state police said.
After backup arrived, troopers took both men out of the car and proceeded to search the vehicle, which yielded a Christmas bag in the back that contained a digital scale and several plastic bags that contained suspected heroin or fentanyl, state police said.
Police also found a black semi-automatic pistol with a high capacity magazine that was concealed in the console area. One round was in the chamber and 15 were in the magazine, state police said.
When both men were being booked after their arrests, troopers found plastic bags hidden inside each of their pants, which contained pills believed to be Percocet, state police said.
During booking, Holloway told police he had to vomit, and after being placed in a cell, he threw up a plastic bag that contained suspected Percocet pills. When he was asked if he had swallowed any other drugs, he told police he had not, state police said.
Both men were found to be in possession of just under $2,500, which was seized as the cash was suspected proceeds from drug sales.