A traffic stop in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, led to the discovery of weapons, including an AR-15 style rifle, and ammunition, investigators said.
The incident occurred Saturday, Oct. 26, when a Bensalem Township Police officer spotted a dark-colored Mazda traveling south on Hulmeville Road near the intersection of Byberry Road. Investigators said the vehicle’s windows were heavily tinted. As the officer drove behind the vehicle, the Mazda sped up and committed a traffic violation, nearly crashing into another vehicle on the road, investigators said.
The officer then pulled the Mazda over on Park Avenue.
“He approaches from the passenger side because the tint is so dark he can’t see in the vehicle,” Bensalem Township Public Safety Director William McVey said. “And we know how dangerous that can be for a police officer because he has no idea what’s in that vehicle.”
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Investigators said the officer approached the back of the Mazda and told the driver – later identified as 33-year-old Victor Miles of Flourtown, Pennsylvania – to roll down the windows because he couldn’t see inside the car due to the heavy tint. Miles allegedly refused to roll the window down and tried to get the officer to approach the driver’s side several times.
More officers then arrived at the scene and spoke with Miles who remained uncooperative, investigators said. One officer then got close enough to the passenger window to look inside and determine Miles was the only one in the car, according to police. The officer then spotted what appeared to be an “AK-style” handgun in the front passenger seat, investigators said.
The officers ordered Miles out of the vehicle and he refused to comply, occasionally reaching towards the gun, police said. Miles then eventually got out of the Mazda unarmed and was taken into custody, according to investigators.
“This is what we see playing out across the country today. People are stopped and they don’t want to comply with the police,” McVey said. “Things could’ve been horrible here.’
Police determined the gun had an obliterated serial number, a loaded banana-style magazine, a round in the chamber, and was ready to be fired, investigators said.
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The vehicle was towed to the Bensalem Township Police Department and investigators obtained a search warrant.
During the search, police recovered the AK-style handgun with an obliterated serial number, a second AR-15 rifle in the trunk, numerous loaded firearm magazines for multiple weapons, shotgun rounds, a black “Balaclava”-style mask, a pair of gloves, a black hooded sweatshirt with black duct tape covering the white wording on the front, multiple containers of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, investigators said.
Miles was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturer’s number, altering or obliterating marks of identification and vehicle code offenses. He was arraigned and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $300,000 bail. Online court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
While Miles is in custody, police believe he may have been involved in other crimes throughout the area.
“We want the public’s assistance to obviously take a look at the individual and the clothing he could have worn in the commission of other crimes,” McVey said.
Miles has no criminal record aside from his recent arrest. If you have information on any prior crimes he may have been involved in, please call Bensalem Police.
