Three People ‘Armed to the Teeth’ Seized After Routine Traffic Stop

Officers discovered firearms--including a machine gun--and several hundred rounds of ammunition Sunday after routinely stopping what appeared to be a drunk driver in Hollywood, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Two men and a woman were arrested for investigation of carrying concealed weapons, CHP Sgt. Mike Brey said.

“The suspects were armed to the teeth, yet they were very cooperative when they were stopped,” he said.

Officers pulled the suspects’ 1969 Chevrolet Impala over on Santa Monica Boulevard west of Vermont Avenue after observing it “straddling street lines,” Brey said.

While conducting a sobriety test, officers noticed ammunition clips “hanging from the driver’s pockets,” CHP Officer Patricia Peterson said. The officers conducted a further search of the driver and a male passenger and found weaponry including three handguns, several loaded ammunition clips, three knives, a set of nunchucku martial arts sticks and a blackjack, Brey said.

The officers also found a Cobray M-11 9mm automatic machine gun with a flash suppressor and one round in its chamber along with more ammunition clips in a duffel bag in the trunk of the car, Brey said.

The arrested men, Earl Pridgon, 26, of Los Angeles, and Eric Peterson, 24, of Montclair, have arrest records for carrying concealed weapons, Brey said, adding that the men “indicated they were employed as security guards.”

No weapons were found on the woman, Marguerite Yorke, 22, of Los Angeles, the sergeant said.

“It really is a curious situation,” Brey said. “We are really not sure who they are and why they were carrying the weapons.”

He said there was no sign of drug or alcohol use and no apparent gang affiliation, but added that the suspects were dressed in “black paramilitary-type clothing.”