ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – Four Philadelphia men were arrested and charged after shooting a man walking along North Arkansas Avenue with a bb gun in a drive-by shooting.
According to police, on Monday, at 6:40 PM, officers were dispatched to the first block of North Arkansas Avenue in reference to a report of a victim being struck with a projectile from a BB gun.
“Officer Wen You arrived and located the victim who advised the officer he was struck with what he believed to be a BB, or pellet, from a BB gun by four males driving in a white colored Nissan Altima,” the department said. “Officers Matthew Talavera and Joseph Kelly Jr. located the suspect vehicle a short distance away and conducted a motor vehicle stop at the intersection of Michigan and Arctic Avenues.”
A search of the vehicle yielded two airsoft pellet guns and a loaded handgun fitted with a high-capacity magazine. The officers also found the handgun to be a “Ghost Gun”, a firearm that lacks a serial number rendering the weapon difficult to trace. The four male suspects were taken into custody without incident.
Isaiah Burris, 27; DAmian Maestre, 23; Joshua Carrion, 23 all of Philadelphia; and Owen Ricketts, 23, of Morrisville, Pennsylvania were arrested for unlawful possession of a weapon (handgun), possession of a ‘Ghost Gun’, transporting a weapon without permit or license, transporting a weapon without a serial number (Ghost Gun), possession of a high capacity magazine, and conspiracy to unlawfully possess a weapon.
Ricketts was additionally charged with simple assault with a weapon (airsoft gun), two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon (airsoft gun), and two counts of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Burris, Maestre, Carrion, and Ricketts were remanded to the Atlantic County Justice Facility. Charges are mere allegations and the accused are considered innocent until proven guilty.