An off-duty Atlantic City officer helped in the arrest of a man and recovery of a gun, police said.
Matthew Talavera, a Class II officer who was sworn in earlier this year, was walking in the beach block of Roosevelt Place on Wednesday, when he came across two men in an altercation, Sgt. Kevin Fair said.
One of the men came up to Talavera and told him he was waiting for police to respond, and that the other man had a gun.
The suspect, John Howard, had put the gun in a mailbox before Talavera got there, according to the report.
Talavera called police communications and told them about the incident.
Patrol officers arrived a short time later, Fair said.
The loaded gun was found and Howard, 42, was arrested.
The Absecon man just got out of prison in May, after serving three years on gun, drug and theft charges, records show.
He is now charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, aggravated assault, possession of a high-capacity magazine and certain person not to possess a weapon.
Howard is being held in the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Atlantic City police at 609-347-5766. Information may also be texted anonymously to tip411 (847411), beginning the text with ACPD.
