A Philadelphia man is facing felony weapons charges following a bizarre traffic stop in Montgomery Township involving an alleged ghost gun and two license plates.
James Ditsche, 33, has been charged with felony counts of firearms not to be carried without a license and person not to possess or use firearms – fugitive, along with misdemeanor counts of marijuana possession and tampering with records and summary charges of no rear lights and operating a vehicle without insurance, in connection with the traffic stop on Jan. 16.
Police were patrolling on Horsham Road at the 202 Parkway at 12:40 a.m. when they allegedly observed a green GMC Envoy traveling with an inoperable passenger-side taillight. Police began to follow the vehicle and ran the license plate, which allegedly showed the vehicle as being unregistered, according to the criminal complaint.
As police followed the vehicle, it turned into the parking lot of Wawa at Horsham and North Wales Road, where it sat stationary at a stop sign for a period before crossing the street into the 7-Eleven parking lot, the report states. A few moments later, the vehicle exited the 7-Eleven parking lot and began heading west on Horsham Road, according to the complaint.
Police said they again began following the vehicle, at which point they noticed the license plate had been changed to the proper registration for the vehicle. A traffic stop was subsequently initiated on Cowpath Road at the intersection with Whitemarsh Lane.
The report states the driver of the vehicle, identified as Ditsche, appeared nervous and confrontational upon being stopped. Police said they observed a firearm in the rear pouch of the front passenger seat, and asked Ditsche to exit vehicle due to his nervous behavior.
Upon inspection, police said the firearm had no serial number, according to the complaint. At that time, Ditsche allegedly told police that he had purchased all of the parts of the gun online, which he then put together — commonly referred to as a ghost gun, the report states. He later admitted that he was recently denied a license to carry a concealed weapon, according to the complaint.
A search of the vehicle revealed the initial license plate that police had observed as they were following the vehicle, police said. Additionally, as they were taking Ditsche into custody, they learned there was an active arrest warrant out of Texas for “intimidation {including stalking,” according to the complaint.
Ditsche was arraigned by District Judge James Gallagher, who set bail at 10% of $2,500 cash. He was then transported to county jail after failing to post, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. in front of District Judge Andrea Duffy.
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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