North Bergen Man Faces Gun Charges After Teaneck Hit-and-Run

County police discovered two handguns and ammunition in the car of a drunk North Bergen man who fled a Route 4 crash in Teaneck Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

Stan Tovbin, an officer with the Bergen County Police Department, responded to a hit-and-run on the highway near Teaneck Road around 4 p.m. where he learned a damaged black Acura TL had fled the scene, according to Lt. Jim Mullin.

A short time later, County Police Officer Dan Breslin spotted a car matching that description and pulled it over on Route 4 near River Road in Hackensack, Mullin said. Breslin reported immediately smelling burnt marijuana when he approached the car. 

Driver Thomas Malik, 18, admitted he smoked pot in the car earlier and gave the officer consent for a search, Mullin said. The search turned up a .45 caliber pistol with two magazines and 50 rounds of ammunition, along with a .22 Derringer pistol, the lieutenant added.

“The two firearms are not licensed, registered, or owned by [the] driver and will be sent for ballistics testing to see if they have been used in previous crimes or if have been reported stolen,” Mullin said in a statement.

County police charged Malik with driving while intoxicated, two counts of illegal possession of a firearm and leaving the scene of an accident.