What started as a traffic stop for a suspected impaired driver earlier this week ultimately led officers to seize an illicit weapon and lay charges against two individuals, according to Ottawa police.
Front-line officers say they responded to calls about an erratic driver on Carling Avenue near Woodroffe Avenue on Tuesday evening, where they reportedly found a weaving car and arrested the driver on suspicion of operating a vehicle while impaired.
Officers say they then found ammunition in the driver’s pocket, prompting a further search of the vehicle, where police say they found a 12-gauge shotgun.
An Ottawa Police Service release lists the firearm as a “crime shotgun,” referring to a weapon allegedly used in the commission of a crime or with the intent to commit a crime.
The driver, 35-year-old Mathieu Lamarche of Cornwall, Ont., as well as a passenger in the vehicle, 32-year-old Marissa Schoenfeldt of no fixed address, are both facing multiple charges related to the possession of an unauthorized firearm in a vehicle.
Lamarche was also charged with failing to comply with a probation order and two counts related to impaired driving.
Both were scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.