An Auburn man faces felony weapon and drug charges after a domestic complaint led police to a Washington Street home where investigators reported finding a loaded stolen handgun and 16.4 grams of crack cocaine Friday.
Gerald Brown, 30, was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree harassment, according to the Auburn Police Department.
Cayuga County E-911 received a call at about 10:34 a.m. Friday, Oct. 16, reporting a verbal and physical domestic incident at a residence between Orchard and Genesee streets. The caller identified Brown as the person involved and reported that he had a firearm, police said.
Responding officers detained Brown without incident after their initial investigation and took him to the Auburn Police Department while the investigation continued.
Auburn City Court approved a search warrant for the residence. Auburn detectives and officers, working with the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force, then searched the home.
Investigators reported finding a loaded Glock Model 26 9 mm semiautomatic handgun that had been reported stolen in Georgia in 2021. They also found several other semiautomatic handgun magazines and a box of 9 mm ammunition, police said.
The search also turned up the crack cocaine, cash, digital scales, narcotics-related packaging material and several electronic devices, according to police.
Police said Brown did not have a New York pistol permit and had previous felony convictions. The weapon charge is a class C felony, each drug charge is a class B felony and the harassment charge is a violation.
In their Oct. 16 release, police said the Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office was requesting that Brown be held in jail because of two prior felony convictions. Police planned to take him to Cayuga County Jail for centralized arraignment the following morning.
The investigation involved the department’s Detective Bureau and Patrol Division, the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force, and Auburn’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination and Statewide Targeted Reductions in Intimate Partner Violence teams. The Cayuga County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute the case.
Anyone with additional information can call the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force at 315-282-7540.
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