Loaded pistol discovered in back seat of Cedar Rapids squad car

A loaded .380 Smith and Wesson semiautomatic pistol was found in the backseat of a police squad car after police took two subjects into custody for further questioning regarding an attempted burglary Monday evening, authorities said.

Officials responded to a burglary in progress in the 1900 block between Bever Avenue and Fourth Avenue SE around 10 p.m. Monday. Officials located two subjects, 19-year-old Andre Kase, Jr. and 18-year-old Kelsey Beckett, at the corner of Fourth Avenue and 20

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Street SE. The two males matched the description from the attempted burglary report taken at 1915 Bever Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids police spokesperson Cristy Hamblin said.

Officers spoke with Kase and Beckett, and later discovered a loaded Glock handgun with an altered serial number nearby. The two subjects were brought to the Cedar Rapids Police Department for further questioning in separate police cars, officials said.

Upon arrival, a loaded .380 Smith and Wesson semiautomatic pistol was found in the squad car that Kase had been transported in, officials said. "He was searched before he was transported,” Hamblin said. “When you transport somebody, you look in the back seat to make sure there are no guns or drugs or anything left in there.”

According to Hamblin, Kase was searched several times by two different officers.

“We're just fortunate nobody was hurt,” Hamblin said. “Just a good learning lesson to be more diligent.”

The serial number matched a weapon that had been taken sometime Oct. 5 or 6 from a vehicle in the 2700 block of Seely Avenue SE, Hamblin said.

Kase and Beckett have been charged for carrying a concealed weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor with a maximum punishment up to two years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Kase was also charged with possession of stolen property, with punishment depending on the value of the property which has not yet been determined, Hamblin said. Beckett could also face federal charges since the Glock had an altered serial number, she added.

Kase and Beckett are currently in custody at the Linn County jail. The case remains under investigation.