‘Plethora’ of guns found after reckless driving arrest, police say

Spokane police say they found a driver with a car full of firearms he was prohibited from owning after an officer pulled him over on suspicion of reckless driving Monday afternoon.

When the officer stopped Joshua A.L. Smith, 38, at the intersection of North Division Street and Sharp Avenue , he found him to be “uncooperative,” a Spokane Police Department news release said.

As the officer arrested Smith on suspicion of reckless driving, he came to believe Smith was under the influence of drugs, the release said.

The officer then spotted what appeared to be illegal drugs and a handgun in the car, which Smith, as a convicted felon, is prohibited from owning. The vehicle was towed as evidence while police sought a search warrant to seize contraband in the vehicle, the news release said.

When the officer executed a search warrant that evening, he found a “plethora” of firearms, the release said, including four handguns, two rifles, dozens of magazines for the various firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, two ballistic vests and illegal controlled substances.

Smith was booked on suspicion of unlawful possession of a firearm, three counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a dangerous weapon, DUI and reckless driving.

“With the arrest of two drive-by shooting suspects last night, and another drive-by shooting suspect on Monday, that makes at least 8 illegally possessed firearms removed from the hands of convicted felons in the last three days,” the release said.