A Lansdale man is behind bars at county jail after a hit and run crash in Hatfield Township allegedly lead to the discovery of an illegally owned firearm that was located in his vehicle.
Santos Chisango, 22, has been charged with felony counts of firearms not to be carried without a license and former convict prohibited from owning a firearm, as well as misdemeanor counts of DUI and possession of a controlled substance and a summary count of accidental damage to an unattended vehicle in connection with an incident that occurred during the evening of March 28.
Police were dispatched to the 500 block of West Vine Street at 10 p.m. for a report of a hit and run crash involving a silver Saturn Ion and a parked Toyota Highlander. A witness told police they heard a loud bang and saw the silver sedan fleeing the scene of the crash, according to the criminal complaint.
Police located the sedan in a parking lot a block away, and noted that it had fresh damage across the front-end, the report states. There, police made contact with the driver — identified as Chisango — whom police described as smelling like alcohol and marijuana with bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, the report states.
While speaking with police, Chisango attempted to flee the scene on foot, police said. After a brief chase through a wooded area, Chisango was Tased and then taken into custody for driving under the influence of alcohol and a controlled substance, according to the report.
Once in custody, police discovered that Chisango was in possession of marijuana vaping cartridges, the report states. Additionally, as police performed an inventory of Chisango’s vehicle prior to it being towed from the scene, they located a loaded, non-chambered Beretta 9mm handgun along the passenger-side floorboard, according to the report.
Police said that Chisango is prohibited from owning a firearm due to his history as a convicted felon, and a registration search revealed that the weapon did not belong to Chisango, according to the report.
The report states that Chisango consented to chemical blood testing to determine his blood-alcohol concentration, however the results have not been received.
Chisango was arraigned the following morning by Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine, who set bail at $100,000 cash. Chisango was then transferred to county jail after failing to post.
His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on April 7 at 11 a.m. in front of Judge Levine.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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