Two men accused found with a gun after being stopped for allegedly breaking into vehicles were making food delivers, according to the defense.
Ahmed Ismail and Torin Colson were arrested last week, after a resident said his surveillance footage showed someone breaking into his vehicle about 40 minutes earlier.
Ismail, 33, of Moorestown, Burlington County, was seen behind the wheel of a Nissan Altima parked on Smithville Boulevard when patrol officers arrived. Colson, 19, of Millville, then came out of a wooded area and got into the passenger seat, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The clothing worn by the suspect in the surveillance matched what Colson was wearing, according to the report.
When patrol officers approached the parked vehicle, Colson was seen trying to hide what turned out to be a defaced firearm loaded with hollow-point ammunition, according to the charges.
Officers also found brass knuckles, a folding knife and a window punch often used to break into vehicles inside the car.
Ismail waived his Miranda rights and said he “wanted to take the gun charge for the co-defendant,” Assistant Prosecutor Paige Cramer said in reading from the affidavit during a detention hearing Monday.
But Ismail knew no details about the firearm, Cramer said at Colson’s hearing Friday.
Colson’s attorney also indicated the co-defendant accepted responsibility for the weapon.
The two were doing DoorDash deliveries together, Hunter Hurst said.
At both men’s separate detention hearings, Cramer questioned why a DoorDash worker would be walking out of the woods to a waiting vehicle.
Ismail’s attorney said Colson was going to the bathroom in the woods.
Samantha Geisinger also said she would be seeking surveillance video from the Wawa, where the men had been when they were allegedly breaking into cars.
Neither has yet been charged with any vehicle burglaries.
“(Colson) has worked really, really hard to impact his life in positive ways,” Hurst said of the 19-year-old.
He got his high school diploma and was set to start his second semester of college this week, Hurst said. He has gotten certifications for forklift operator and OSHA and was set to interview at a group home in Voorhees to live.
Judge Patricia Wild considered Colson’s juvenile history — which she called “shocking” — due to his age.
His priors include weapons possession, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, theft, resisting, attacking a corrections officer, assault, shoplifting and violating probation, Cramer said.
Both men will remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
