Lansford police nabbed a Lehighton man for allegedly carrying a handgun with altered serial numbers in his car.

The man, Kareem Diamonte Sanders, 18, also did not have a license to carry the gun, a .22 caliber Jennings J22 handgun.He faces five charges: possession of a firearm with altered manufacturer's numbers, firearms not to be carried without a license, both felonies; false identity and giving false identification to law enforcement, both misdemeanors, and carrying a loaded weapon, a summary.Sanders was arraigned before on-call District Judge Joseph Homanko and jailed under $25,000 straight cash bail.A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21 before District Judge Casimir Kosciolek, Lansford.According to an affidavit of probable cause, here's what happened:Det./Sgt. Jack Soberick and officers Robert Shubeck and David Midas were on duty at about 8:15 p.m. last Thursday, Sept. 15, when Soberick saw two men acting suspiciously while walking in the borough's business district.The subjects, one white male and one black male, made obvious efforts to avoid being seen. The two quickly cut through a vacant lot from the 100 block of West Ridge to the 100 block of West Patterson. When Soberick went around the block to try and get a better look at the pair, he saw them literally jump or dive into an alcove in the area of 105 West Patterson.Realizing that the pair would likely flee, Soberick kept them under surveillance while he awaited assistance from Shubeck. The men came out of their hiding position and walked east to the intersection of Tunnel and Patterson streets, where they entered the rear passenger area of a black Ford Escort.Shubeck arrived, and he and Soberick made a traffic stop of the escort. Shubeck approached the driver while Soberick watched the occupants of the car, seeing clearly the black male seated in the right rear passenger seat.After speaking with the car's occupants, Shubeck told Soberick he had obtained the name of the man in the right rear passenger seat from an identification card the man had provided. The card identified the man as Kenneth Donnel Lucas.As police continued the field interview, Soberick asked the man identified as Lucas to step over to speak with him. Soberick asked him he was so obviously trying to avoid being seen by police. The man responded that he did not want to be hassled and that many area officers were racist.Soberick asked him if he would mind emptying his pockets before being allowed back into the car. Soberick explained that he did not have to do this, but that he would appreciate his cooperation.The man. known at this point, replied that would be no problem and proceeded to empty his pockets.Among the items was a wallet. As Soberick checked the wallet, he found another Pennsylvania photo identification card with the name Kareem Diamonte Chaquelle H. Sanders. The photo was obviously of the subject standing in front of him, Soberick observed. However, "Mr. Lucas" claimed the identification was not his, but his brother's.Soberick asked if they were twins, but got no reply.After all of the names were obtained and checked, and just before the subjects were about to leave, Shubeck obtained consent from the driver to allow police to check the inside of the car.Soberick and Summit Hill officer Brett Hannon began to check the passenger area. Soberick examined the seat where he had seen Lucas/Sanders sitting, and as he ran his hand over the seat cushion, felt a hard, metal, somewhat triangular object underneath.He checked the other cushion and found no such object there. he again felt the shape and could now make out the outline of a small handgun. The cover was easily pulled up, and Soberick found the handgun between the cover and the foam cushion.Also, a backpack was found in the rear, containing, among other items, a brown suede holster and a box of ammunition, both of which would fit the seized weapon. The other items and the backpack indicated they belonged to Kareem Diamonte Chaquelle H. Sanders.Upon arrival at the police station, Shubeck read Sanders his Miranda warnings, then engaged in a conversation with him.While they talked, Soberick secured the gun and found it was loaded and could be immediately fired. He also saw that the factory serial numbers had been destroyed/obliterated.Shubeck asked Sanders what had happened to the numbers, and Sanders replied that he had found the gun in Allentown in that condition.