GWINNETT COUNTY, GA -- It was a routine speeding stop. But nothing was routine about the guns a Gwinnett County Police officer found in the car he stopped.
Police say three people in the car were headed to the 32nd Annual National Biker's Roundup at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton.
Police are worried the guns were meant to start trouble at the annual event.
Gwinnett County Police say they received an internal law enforcement bulletin from the FBI about this weekend's roundup. "It was making everyone aware that at the roundup this weekend there may be possible gang violence due to some rival gang activity," said Gwinnett County Police Corporal Illana Spellman.
Now they wonder if what the officer found after the traffic stop confirms the feds intelligence report.
The officer found four handguns in the black Cadillac DTS the suspect's were in. Corporal Spellman says two of the guns were hidden in a panel inside the trunk of the car. She also said one of the guns was listed as stolen by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).
Cpl. Spellman said one gun was of particular concern. "One of those handguns also had a very long magazine which held 30 plus rounds in it," she said. "So it was a little disconcerting for the officer."
The officer arrested three suspects, all from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ernest Jackson, 36, a Pittsburgh firefighter is charged with Theft by Receiving a Stolen Firearm and Speeding.
Melvin Bartcher, 22, is charged with Theft by Receiving a Stolen Firearm and Possession of Marijuana.
Vernon Rogers, 33, is charged with Theft by Receiving a Stolen Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
The officer, with the Gwinnett County Police Highway Interdiction Team made the stop in unincorporated Buford on Interstate 85 at mile marker 124.
Cpl. Spellman said the officer became suspicious while questioning the driver. She said the driver consented to a search.
The three suspects told the officer they were on their way to Hampton for the National Bikers Roundup.
They said they were members of "The Sin City Titans Outlaw Motorcycle Club." Gwinnett County Police said the club was specifically mentioned in the FBI alert. Suspect Vernon Rogers claimed to be the Pittsburgh Chapter President of the club.
"We don't know if we curbed any potential violence or not," Cpl. Spellman said. "Just the fact that the potential is there and we were able to intercept that, is a good thing."
All three suspects are being held at the Gwinnett County Detention Center. Bond was set for all three.