A Watervliet patrol officer’s routine traffic stop near 2nd Avenue and 15th Street turned into a car chase, a foot chase and the recovery of two loaded handguns early Thursday, including one allegedly modified to fire fully automatically. Police say the chaos began around 2:45 a.m. when 24-year-old Albany resident Zyeef Cancer, driving with a suspended license, sped off rather than stop.
According to the Watervliet Police Department, an officer on routine patrol spotted a vehicle violating New York’s vehicle and traffic law in the area and attempted to stop it. Cancer struck a tire-deflation device officers had deployed but kept driving anyway, leading police on a pursuit that stretched into the City of Albany before he finally stopped and was taken into custody there.
His passenger, 26-year-old Albany resident Akeim Ryan, didn’t stay in the car for the ride. Police say Ryan bailed out on foot and was caught after a brief chase, and it was in the area where he was apprehended that officers recovered a loaded handgun fitted with a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device.
A Second Gun, Modified to Fire Automatically
Investigators didn’t stop at one weapon. A second loaded handgun, also equipped with a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device, was recovered during the investigation — and police say that one had been modified to fire in a fully automatic capacity. The report notes the investigation into that second firearm remained ongoing as of Friday…