Riding together in a police vehicle as members of the Reading police neighborhood gun violence unit, two investigators and a patrol officer observed a car rolling through a stop sign Monday afternoon before illegally park in front of a hydrant.

Shortly after making contact with the driver, one of the investigators noticed a handgun on the floor in front of the driver’s seat.

The Glock 23 pistol, which was later determined to have been reported to city police as stolen, was equipped with an auto sear, a switch that renders a semi-automatic Glock into a fully automatic weapon, according to the probable cause affidavit:

The driver, Salvador, E. Vializ Jr., 21, of Reading, doesn’t have a license to carry a concealed firearm, much less one that is illegally modified, investigators said.

After the vehicle was towed to an impoundment lot, investigators said they discovered a backpack in the vehicle that contained 15 baggies of marijuana.

Vializ of the 500 block of South 10th Street was charged with receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, possessing marijuana and possessing an offensive weapon.

After arraignment before District Judge Eric J. Taylor in Reading Central Court, he was committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail to await a hearing.

The neighborhood gun violence unit, staffed by personnel from the patrol and investigations divisions, has made dozens of arrests and seized dozens of illegal firearms since it was launched in February 2023 in response to violence involving firearms.