An expired license plate led to a jail stay for a Tamaqua man on May 21.

Tamaqua police were on patrol on Pine Street at 12:40 a.m. when the officer observed a blue 2001 GMC with an expired registration. The license plate had expired in February. A records check confirmed the registration had not been renewed.The officer followed the truck, with activated emergency lights, until it came to a stop near the intersection of Pleasant Row and West Elm Street. The driver was identified as Michael Pitta, 42, of 100 Pitt St.Pitta explained the vehicle wasn't his, he didn't know where the registration and insurance cards were and he didn't have a valid driver's license. The officer also noted the vehicle's inspection sticker ran out in March.A records check on Pitta confirmed his driver's license was suspended. There was also a warrant for his arrest.As the officer was verifying the records a woman (Laura Redner) approached and said she was the owner of the truck and needed to get the food items that were in the vehicle. She was told she would have to wait. When she became insistent she was told she would be arrested for interference if she didn't stop. She walked away but was replaced in minutes by a woman who said she was Redner's sister. She was also denied access to the truck.As Pitta was being arrested and placed in a police cruiser an officer began gathering up the groceries. He noticed a purple bag on the passenger side floor with what appeared to be a hand gun grip peeking out the top. The bag was then searched and a Smith and Wesson .357, in a brown leather holster, was recovered. The bag also contained six rounds of .357 ammunition and a black scale with a white powdery substance.With Pitta being a felon (delivery of a controlled substance), he isn't allowed to possess a firearm. The serial number on the handgun was partially filed off, but only one number was actually unidentifiable. The serial number was run through a records check, individually using the numbers 1 through 9 in place of the missing number.A gun matching the make and model was reportedly stolen to the state police in Schuylkill Haven. The serial number matched, with a 1 in place of the scratched off number.Redner was given the groceries and asked about the gun. She said that Pitta had it earlier.While this was happening a Michael Kemmerer approached police about other items in the truck, which included tools and a four wheeler. He was denied access and all of the items, other than the groceries, were impounded along with the truck.Pitta was arraigned on charges of possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, receiving stolen property, carrying a firearm without a license, driving a vehicle with an expired registration, operating a motor vehicle without a valid inspection and driving with a suspended license.Bail was set at $30,000 straight cash and he was jailed in the Schuylkill County Prison in Pottsville.