Meriden Police Seize Stolen Assault Rifle, Ammo

Meriden police said they have recovered a stolen Bushmaster assault rifle and ammunition.

Police on Wednesday found two loaded 30-round magazines and a loaded 10-round magazine in a residence on Kensington Avenue.

Waldemar Nieves lives in the apartment where police found the weapon beneath a bed. He was arrested and charged with possession of a stolen firearm and hindering prosecution.

Nieves was ordered held on $150,000 bail.

Police said detectives learned the rifle, stolen from Coventry in 2009, was to be sold on Thursday.

Spokesman Sgt. Darrin McKay called it a "great take off the streets." The shooter who killed 20 children and six adults at a Newtown school last Friday was believed to have used a Bushmaster rifle.

It was not known if the 26-year-old Nieves is represented by a lawyer.