Driver arrested on firearms charges

A Cumru Township man faces felony firearms charges after township police said they found him with an assembled-from-kit “ghost gun” and switchblade knife during a traffic stop over the weekend.

Jeffrey Hill, 23, was arrested after an officer stopped him Saturday, Dec. 25, about 1:30 p.m. for a window-tinting violation as he turned into the parking lot of a hotel in the 2200 block of Lancaster Pike, where he is residing.

According to court records:

As the officer called in the traffic stop to Berks County emergency dispatchers, Hill stuck his head out the window and yelled to the officer, asking why he had been pulled over. The officer approached the car and told Hill to roll down all the windows so he could see inside the car, explaining that he had been stopped because of an unlawful window tint.

Hill protested that it was not right that he had been pulled over right after a holiday. He continued to complain after the officer asked for his license and registration, saying all the documents were in his hotel room.

The officer asked HiIl if there were any weapons in the car. Hill said there were none as he reached around as if searching for something. The officer ordered him to place his hands on the steering wheel.

Hill continued to behave suspiciously, moving his hands around and looking around. He eventually produced a Pennsylvania identification card.

Hill was ordered out of the car so he could be searched. Hill started to remove his jacket, but the officer ordered him to stop.

Hill remained in the vehicle and began locking the doors and closing the windows. The officer unlocked the doors through the stillopen driver’s side door and again ordered Hill out of the car.

Hill stepped out and was handcuffed but continued to move, making it difficult for police to control him. He was taken to the ground. The officer found a knife in the back pocket of his pants.

The knife was determined to be a switchblade-style knife, which is considered to be a prohibited offensive weapon because the blade is opened with the press of a button.

A search of the jacket pockets revealed a 9 mm pistol constructed from a kit, also known as a ghost gun because it lacks a serial number and is nearly untraceable by law enforcement through gun transfer records.

Though kit-assembled guns are not illegal, Hill is prohibited from having a firearm due to a conviction for aggravated assault as a juvenile. He also lacked a permit to carry a concealed firearm.

Hill remained free to await a hearing following arraignment before District Judge Ann L. Young in Reading Central Court. He is charged with possessing a firearm while prohibited and carrying a firearm without a license, as well as resisting arrest, possessing a prohibited offensive weapon and driving under a suspended or revoked license.