Officials investigated an abandoned Tesla tied to a property-damage crash that was found near Niagara Square with a loaded handgun and other personal items inside.<\/p>\n
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Police sources tell 2 On Your Side that investigators believe the gun found in an abandoned vehicle in Niagara Square early Tuesday morning belonged to former Erie County Narcotics Chief DJ Granville.<\/p>\n
2 On Your Side<\/a> crews responded to the scene sometime after 2 a.m. Tuesday and saw several Buffalo Police investigators searching the abandoned Tesla.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to a police report, officers found the damaged vehicle left on and unlocked. While preparing the vehicle to be towed, officers searched the car and found a black North Face bag in the front trunk area containing a Glock 43 handgun with a round in the chamber and a full magazine.<\/p>\n They also found a wallet containing a work ID and badge, prescription medication, clothing, paperwork, a checkbook, a cellphone and a walkie-talkie radio from inside the vehicle.<\/p>\n The vehicle was later towed to the Seneca Street impound lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report states a federal court officer who called 911 told police they saw a white man wearing a dark blue jacket, light blue shirt and tan pants get out of the vehicle and walk toward a silver or light blue sedan.<\/p>\n Police said officers and detectives attempted to contact the person connected to the property found inside the vehicle, but were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n Granville was later charged with Failure to Safely Store Fire Arms in the First Degree.<\/p>\n It’s still unknown who was driving the vehicle at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Granville\u2019s attorney, Terry Connors, provided a statement to WGRZ Wednesday evening saying, \u201cDJ Granville was not the operator of the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n The Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency was called in to assist in the investigation. \u00a0They issued this statement 2 On Your Side.<\/p>\n ATF routinely provides investigative support to our law enforcement partners, including firearms tracing. In this case, ATF assisted with tracing recovered firearms. Federal law prohibits ATF from disclosing trace information outside of the requesting law enforcement agency.<\/p>\n This incident comes less than two months after Granville officially retired from the Erie County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n