A Galloway Township man was arrested after he was found heavily armed and wearing a tactical vest.
Police responded to a call of a suspicious person in possession of a firearm in the 200 block of East White Horse Pike.
They found Thomas Turner Jr., 42, just after noon Friday wearing a backpack. While talking to him, they found he was carrying a .45-caliber Encom MP-45 assault rifle with a 30-round extended magazine loaded with 17 bullets, police said.
Turner was also found in possession of 15 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and other "suspicious items," police said.
That let to a search warrant for a storage container leased by Thomas, where police found various weapons, a variety of ammunition and additional extended magazines, along with heroin, police said.
Thomas is jailed on charges including possession of an assault firearm while committing a drug offense, three counts of unlawful possession of an extended ammunition magazine, possession of methamphetamine and heroin, and possession with intent to distribute.
Patrolman Jeremy Feliciano is investigating the case.
The Richard Stockton University Police Department, Atlantic City Police Department and Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office assisted with the investigation.
