PROVIDENCE --Two members of the Providence police Violent Crime Task Force arrested a known gang associate on Thursday for the second time in less than a year on a charge of carrying an unlicensed handgun.
Deputy Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III said that Tyrece McCants, 21, of Providence, was arrested about 5 p.m. after officers Eric Greene and Sean Lafferty spotted him with another man in a Cadillac near Arbor Glen, a housing project, on Admiral Street.
The police report identified him as an associate of the Young Gunnas street gang.
Oates said the Cadillac sped off and McCants ran toward 25 Phebe St., carrying what appeared to be a handgun in a black sock. He said Lafferty pursued him and allegedly saw him toss the sock.
Once McCants was captured, Lafferty returned to the scene and found the gun -- a 9mm Ruger wrapped in the sock. It was loaded with six bullets and had a seventh in the chamber, police said.
McCants was charged with possession of a firearm without license. Last year, on Aug. 30, McCants was caught on the street with a .380 caliber handgun in his waistband.
Oates said that the gun seizure was the 73rd by the Providence police this year and the 19th since July 1.