A Pennsylvania man accused of brandishing a gun at a driver stopped at a traffic light in Atlantic City was ordered held in jail Thursday.
Sean Bennett, 30, of Chester, Pa., was arrested with a loaded handgun and a knife after a man reported that he had a gun pulled on him while waiting at a traffic light, according to the report.
Officer Trevor Brenner was stopped at 1:24 a.m. Sunday, when the victim said he was stopped at the light at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Pacific Avenue when a man on the sidewalk removed a handgun from a bag and pointed it at him, according to Lt. Kevin Fair and information read from the affidavit of probable cause.
The suspect was described as wearing an orange hoodie with a mask.
Officer Adrian Nunez-Santos saw Bennett in the 1600 block of Pacific Avenue wearing a hoodie, an orange traffic vest and green shorts, and tried to stop him, according to the reports.
Bennett shoved the officer and tried to run. After a struggle on the ground, he was taken into custody with the help of Officers Jesse Oliver-Logan, Jennifer Sanchez and Tyke White, Fair said.
A loaded handgun was found tucked in Bennett's waste with a knife, two ecstasy pills and a baggie believed to be K-2 in a backpack, according to the charges.
Bennett denies he brandished the weapon, defense attorney Maya Rex told the judge.
"The defendant alleges it's not him," Judge Pamela D'Arcy said in rendering her decision. "It's interesting. He fits the description and had the handgun readily accessible in his hoodie, as well as another weapon in his backpack, so I think the proofs are good."
Bennett has a prior gun conviction out of Pennsylvania from 2021, and was sentenced this past November, according to information provided at his hearing.
He did raise his hand to speak but, after his attorney advised him of making any comments about the case, he indicated only that he has had problems reaching his family.
