PORT RICHMOND — Six people were arrested after officers found a loaded gun inside a purse during a traffic stop, a law enforcement source said.
Mark Bajandas, 22, was driving a 2010 Ford Fusion and failed to signal to make a left turn at Decker Avenue and Catherine Street on July 23 at about 1:20 a.m., prosecutors said. Bajandas' car also had a broken tail light, police said.
When officers pulled the car over they found a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm inside an open purse in the car, the source said.
Bajandas and his passengers, Joshua Harris, 23, Ashley Sherman, 19, Amya Ford, 18, Michelle Cicchillo, 19, and an unnamed 16-year-old, were arrested and charged with criminal possession of a firearm and criminal possession of a weapon at their arraignment, the Staten Island District Attorney's office said.
Harris has been arrested two other times this year for criminal possession of a weapon, according to online court records.
Bajandas' bail was set at $75,000, Harris' at $25,000 and Ford's at $2,500. Sherman and Cicchillo were released without bail.
Their lawyers did not respond to requests for comments.
