Cops say car-stop for speeding turned up mutt and a shotgun

Taheime Lloyd could probably write a book for ex-felons on things not to have stashed in your car while driving around the city.

Lloyd, 36, was stopped by Highway Patrol Sgt. Pete Whittle and Officer Bill Postowski on Wednesday afternoon for speeding near 55th Street and Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philly.

When the cops asked Lloyd for his license and registration, he opened his glove compartment - and a black handgun fell out, said Highway Patrol Capt. Michael Cochrane.

Lloyd told the officers that the weapon was merely a BB gun.

The real prize, the officers soon found, was hiding under the front passenger seat: a 12 gauge shotgun that was loaded with five rounds, Cochrane said.

Lloyd told the cops that he had purchased the shotgun for $200 on the streets last month for protection.

But the hidden surprises didn't end there.

Cochrane said Lloyd also allegedly told the officers that he had a pit bullmastiff in the trunk of his 2007 Ford Focus.

Although it was 90 degrees outside, Lloyd explained that the dog was dirty, and he didn't want it to make a mess inside of the car because he has an infant.

Whittle and Postowski opened the trunk, and found the dog alive but lethargic.

"They couldn't believe it," Cochrane said.

"The commissioner's directed us to make gun arrests. Here [the officers] came up with a shotgun that a convicted felon had, and they saved a dog."

Lloyd, of Paschall Avenue near 53rd Street, was charged with weapons violations, possessing an instrument of crime and cruelty to animals.

According to court records, he has a criminal history that dates back to 1993.

Lloyd was sentenced to six to 12 years behind bars in 1998 on charges of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person, records show, and he was also previously convicted of theft and simple assault.