Seattle City Wire

Police recovered a handgun and suspected fentanyl pills during a welfare check in the SODO neighborhood Thursday morning.

Around 5:30 a.m., a South Precinct officer was flagged down by a citizen concerned about someone passed out in a running vehicle at 4th Avenue S and S Holgate Street. The officer found the car in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant and observed both the driver and passenger passed out, as well as two children awake in the backseat.

As officers approached the vehicle, they saw drug paraphernalia and signs of narcotics use next to both the driver and passenger. Police woke both subjects and saw a plastic bag with a large number of pills in the center console while talking to them.

The driver was taken into custody for physical control of a vehicle while impaired. Officers found a handgun and additional narcotics in a backpack from the rear floorboard within reach of the two children, and later served a search warrant on the vehicle.

In total, police recovered:

• Beretta 9mm pistol, loaded with 10 rounds
• 545.3 grams of suspected fentanyl
• $1,230 in U.S. currency
• Drug paraphernalia

Due to safety concerns, the children were taken into protective custody by Child Protective Services.

The 33-year-old driver was confirmed to be a seven-time convicted felon prohibited from possessing a firearm. He was transported to the King County Jail and booked for weapons and narcotics violations.

Original source can be found here.