A man found passed out in Atlantic City wearing a bulletproof vest was arrested with two guns, police said.
Taiwan West, 40, was lying on his back in the 900 block of Arctic Avenue when Officer Kevin Perez found him at 11:46 Friday night, Sgt. Kevin Fair said.
West became startled when the officer tried to wake him and give him medical help, according to the report.
West showed signs of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and an ambulance was called, Fair said. That’s when Perez noticed a bulletproof vest under West’s shirt.
West gave a false name, gave the officer two identification cards that were not him, according to the report.
When Perez searched West’s bag he found two loaded handguns, 15 grams of marijuana and more than seven grams of heroin, Fair said.
West was arrested and later positively identified as West, who has a pending third-degree drug case that was part of a group with ties to drug-related deaths. He has not been charged in any deaths.
West previously pleaded guilty to a drug distribution case in 2016, court records show.
He was taken to the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center’s City Campus to be medically cleared before he was transported to the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
West is charged with two counts each of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute in a school zone, possession with intent to distribute within 500 feet of a public zone, unlawful possession of a weapon and certain person not to possess a weapon. He also has one count each of possessing a weapon while committing a CDS offense and possession of drug paraphernalia.
