SPRINGFIELD — At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, members of the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit arrested two suspects and recovered a loaded firearm and various firearm accessories.
Around 4:20 p.m., FIU detectives were conducting an unrelated investigation in the area of Governor Street.
The plain-clothes detectives were in an unmarked cruiser when a vehicle pulled alongside the cruiser.
The driver, later identified as Johnathan Melendez, initiated a conversation with the detectives before driving ahead and parking on the street.
About ten minutes later as detectives were leaving the area, Melendez allegedly moved his car to prevent the detectives from leaving.
As this occurred, an individual, later identified as Carmelo Serrano, walked down the driveway of a home with a firearm in his hand.
Serrano allegedly pointed the firearm directly at the undercover detectives.
Detectives then activated their emergency lights in their cruiser and Serrano ran away into a home.
Detectives then approached Melendez in his vehicle.
Melendez crashed his car into an assisting unmarked cruiser which had just arrived.
Melendez drove away before being stopped on Grover Street and placed under arrest.
Nearly simultaneously, detectives and officers setup a perimeter around the home that Serrano was believed to have gone into.
After speaking with residents of the home, Serrano was persuaded to come outside where he was placed under arrest.
Detectives then applied for and were granted a search warrant for the home on Governor Street.
During the execution of the search warrant, detectives recovered a loaded firearm, a firearm magazine capable of holding 31 rounds of ammunition, a firearm magazine loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition and a third firearm magazine loaded with 10 rounds of ammunition.
Also recovered during the search were approximately 92 rounds of various ammunition and various firearm accessories.
The firearm recovered was reported stolen out of Springfield.
40-year-old Carmelo Serrano of Springfield is charged with carrying a firearm without a license, assault with a dangerous weapon (two counts), possession of ammunition without an FID card, possession of a high-capacity magazine/feeding device (two counts), convicted felon in possession of a firearm, firearm violation with 3 prior violent/drug crimes, improper storage of a firearm and receiving stolen property less than $1200.
21-year-old Johnathan Melendez of Springfield is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon (two counts) and leaving the scene of a property damage crash.
