LAPLACE – A recent traffic stop led to the arrest of a Reserve man and the confiscation of two stolen firearms.

On March 23 at 11:40 a.m., a St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 400 block of Central Avenue in Reserve.

The traffic investigation revealed that the driver of the car did not have a valid driver’s license.

Upon further investigation, the deputy recovered two stolen firearms from the car. One firearm, a 9mm handgun found behind the center armrest, was reported stolen in Texas. A second firearm, an AK-47 rifle found in the trunk, was reported stolen in St. John Parish.

The deputy arrested the driver, Timothy Charles Jr., 29, of Central Avenue in Reserve.

Charles was booked with two counts of illegal possession of a stolen firearm, illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, open container law, vehicle entering highway, tail lamps and operating a vehicle while driver’s license is suspended. Charles remains in custody in lieu of a $101,250 bond. He has been arrested 17 times in St. John Parish since October 2002. His charges include but are not limited to DWI, attempted second-degree murder, battery, theft and resisting an officer.