Stamford Police Find Gun, Mask in Car of 'Suspicious Man'

A call about a suspicious man hanging out along a street in Stamford led police to taking an altered handgun off the streets, police said Tuesday. 

According to authorities, officers on the midnight shift responded to a call on August 29 at approximately 1:45 a.m. in the area of Hillside Avenue and Ivy Street observed a light-colored Buick parked in the area, where a man was allegedly viewed exiting the vehicle and walking down the driveway at 23 Ivy Street. 

Vehicles had reportedly been burglarized in the area recently and residents were on high alert. The man, eventually identified as Robert Lee Hudson, 30, of 1430 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport, was seen by officers leaving the driveway and walking past his vehicle. They observed him near the corner of Hillside and Ivy, near 40 Ivy Street, from where the call to police originated, police said. 

Officers approached the man and he allegedly told police a "convoluted story" about why he was hanging out in the area, though he told police he did not live in the area, police said. 

A K-9 unit that arrived as backup did not indicate there was anything suspicious on the man, but indicated there was something of interest in the vehicle. After allegedly giving a false name to police, another officer—and former Narcotics & Organized Crime Unit member—identified Hudson as he was familiar with the suspect, police said. 

The man declined a search of the vehicle by police, but they were able to obtain a search warrant and seized the vehicle, which the man said belonged to a girlfriend who lived in Norwalk. A search was conducted and a backpack containing a blue UnderArmour pullover face mask, a .380-caliber Bersa handgun and loaded magazine, not inserted into the weapon, were found. 

After applying for an arrest warrant, Hudson was taken into custody on Monday, September 9, and charged with criminal possession of a pistol, illegal alteration of a pistol's identification serial number and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle.