Joseph Riley Sr., left, appears virtually from the Atlantic County jail. His son, Joseph Riley Jr., in his state Department of Corrections photo.
An Atlantic County father and son will be spending Thanksgiving together in the county jail after a stolen gun and drugs were found hidden inside a vehicle confiscated by police.
Joseph Riley Jr. and Sr. were passengers in a Kia Soul being driven by Lee-Andre McNeil on Nov. 13.
Atlantic City police were conducting a separate drug investigation when they received information that a vehicle involved in the case was concealing two handguns that were hidden to avoid detection, according to the affidavit of probable cause obtained by BreakingAC.
A vehicle stop led to K-9 Officer Melvin Murray coming to the scene near the Martinique Motel, where his partner, Jynx, indicated there were drugs inside the vehicle. It was then towed.
But it wasn’t until the back seat was removed that police found 22 grams of suspected crack cocaine and a black 9mm Ruger reported stolen out of Philadelphia, Riley Sr.’s public defender pointed out during a detention hearing.
“That car had to be torn apart to locate those drugs and that gun,” attorney John Bjorklund noted, calling anyone who wasn’t the driver “collateral damage.”
Riley Sr., 53, of Ventnor, was in the car for less than five minutes and did not know Lee-Andrew McNeil, who is the registered owner, Bjorklund said.
“I just sat in the car to smoke a joint,” the defendant later told the judge.
All three men had been released before the vehicle was searched, with only Riley Sr. picked up at the time of the hearing.
“I could probably coax my son — if I'm able to get a hold of him — to turn himself in and the other guy,” Riley Sr. said at the Nov. 14 hearing.
Riley Jr., who goes by Yusef, was arrested Friday, jail records show.
Lee-Andrew McNeil, 19, of Philadelphia, is still wanted in the case.
Judge Jeffrey Wilson ordered Riley Sr. held, noting his significant history of failing to appear in court, including five times in the past two years.
His criminal history includes 11 indictable convictions that include thefts, burglaries, shoplifting and forgery. He has been incarcerated 10 times and has eight disorderly persons convictions, the judge noted.
Riley Sr. also had four pending charges at the time of his arrest.
Riley Jr.'s detention hearing is set for Monday, after a postponement requested by his attorney.
The 32-year-old Atlantic City resident was released from South Woods State Prison on Aug. 16, after serving a 3½-year sentence on drugs and resisting, state Department of Corrections records show.
McNeil remains a fugitive. No photo was available of the suspect.
