Officers Find Drug Cache After Incident on Freeway

Authorities Wednesday were attempting to identify a man they arrested for threatening another motorist on an Orange County freeway and later linked to a cache of drugs and weapons.

A man tentatively identified as Michael Rogers, 35, of Wilmington was being held on suspicion of possessing $25,000 worth of cocaine for sale and possession of a handgun, officers said.

However, according to California Highway Patrolman Glen Mayernick, the suspect was found to have seven other pieces of identification, including some listing a Huntington Beach address.

Rogers also had birth and death certificates from Springfield, Ill., dating back 30 years that Mayernick said may have been used to obtain false driver’s licenses in California.

Mayernick said Rogers was arrested near Cal State Long Beach Tuesday after he allegedly brandished a gun at another motorist on the San Diego Freeway near Golden West Street.

Cocaine Found

A search of Rogers’ car turned up 84 small packages of cocaine, as well as a handgun and homemade exploding ammunition for the weapon, Mayernick said. Officers also found business cards from rental storage firms in Westminster and Huntington Beach.

Mayernick said a search of the storage units uncovered nearly a pound of cocaine, several more guns and at least 12 silencers that officers believe were made in a workshop set up in one of the units.

Rogers’ fingerprints have been sent to the FBI, Mayernick said, “but if he’s never been arrested before and printed, that won’t do us much good.”

The suspect is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today in Long Beach Municipal Court.