A Yardley man scuffled with police after they allege he reached for a loaded handgun.
Matthew Salamandra, 47, of Yardley, was arrested after being pulled over by Falls Township police around 11 p.m. Thursday.
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According to police paperwork, the traffic stop was initiated when officer checked the registration for the car and found it expired. When he finally pulled over, Salamandra was in front of the Falls Township Police Department headquarters on Lincoln Highway in Fairless Hills.
When the officer began talking with Salamandra, he told them that his inspection, registration and insurance were all not current, court documents stated.
Officers checked Salamandra’s identity through PennDOT and found an active license suspension, an ignition interlock license and warrants in New Jersey and New York. Salamandra was hesitant to get out of his car, and when he did, he did not comply with officers’ requests for him to put his hands on the roof of the 2008 Honda.
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The probable cause affidavit states that Salamandra wriggled out of the officers’ grip and reached for his hoodie pocket, which contained a loaded handgun. A brief altercation ensued where Salamandra resisted continuously, even after being handcuffed.
During the following search, officers found a black pouch on Salamandra’s person including more than 50 grams of cocaine, two baggies of crack, an unlabeled pill bottle with 38 Oxycodone pills and a Viagra pill, police said.
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During the scuffle, the officers suffered ankle and elbow injuries.
Salamandra is being charged with nine felony counts of aggravated assault, felony carrying a firearm without a permit, six misdemeanors of simple assault, three misdemeanors of recklessly endangering another person, three misdemeanors of resisting arrest, six harassment summary charges, six disorderly conduct misdemeanors, a misdemeanor of being in possession of a controlled substance, a felony of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances, DUI and related offenses. In total, Salamandra is facing 44 charges.
Salamandra’s bail was set at 10 percent of $750,000 and he was remanded to Bucks County prison.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
