Bail set at $750,000 for 2 arrested on weapons counts

Bail has been set at $750,000 each for two Virginia men authorities said were armed with loaded handguns when they were arrested near the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, where votes were being counted.

Joshua Macias, 42, and Antonio LaMotta, 61, traveled from the Virginia Beach area in a Hummer and did not have permits to carry the weapons in Pennsylvania, police said. They were each charged with carrying a concealed firearm without a license and carrying a firearm on a public street.

The men were stopped Thursday about a block from the vehicle, Macias with a .40-caliber Beretta handgun inside his jacket and LaMotta with a 9-millimeter Beretta in a holster, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. An AR-style rifle and ammunition were found inside the vehicle, Outlaw said.

Philadelphia Dist. Atty. Larry Krasner said there was no indication anyone else was involved or that the men were connected with any extremist group. A woman with the men wasn’t arrested, he said.

Prosecutors said earlier they would request that the men be held without bail pending a preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for Nov. 23. Prosecutors said both men were from Chesapeake, Va., but the court docket said Macias is from Virginia Beach.

A message seeking comment was sent to the Defender Assn. of Philadelphia, listed in court papers as representing LaMotta; no attorney was listed for Macias.