BOSTON, Feb. 15, 2013—A Mattapan man was held on high bail at his arraignment yesterday after he was arrested with a firearm during a traffic stop, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ANTHONY DAVIS (D.O.B. 3/13/82) was arraigned in Dorchester District Court yesterday on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm as a third offense, unlawful possession of ammunition possession as a subsequent offense, and carrying a loaded firearm without a license.

Davis is charged as a Level III armed career criminal based on a 2002 conviction for assault and battery and a 1999 conviction for possession with intent to distribute a Class A substance. Davis has already been sentenced to one year behind bars on a 2004 firearm conviction and three years in state prison on a 2010 firearm conviction.

Assistant District Attorney Gretchen Sherwood requested $85,000 bail and an order that, if he is released, Davis wear a GPS monitor, abide by a curfew, stay away from the area where he was arrested, and stay away from a witness to the case.  Judge Rosalind H. Miller set bail at $50,000 and declined to grant any of the orders.

According to prosecutors, Davis was the passenger in a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder that Boston Police officers spotted traveling at a high rate of speed on Esmond Street around 11:45 p.m. Saturday.

The driver of the vehicle pulled over for police at the intersection of Bowdoin and Greenbrier streets.  Officers immediately smelled fresh marijuana and noticed an open beer bottle in the SUV’s cup holder, prosecutors said.  As one officer spoke to the driver, a second officer asked for identification from Davis, who was not wearing a seat belt.  Prosecutors said his hand shook as he handed his Georgia ID to the officer and, when asked to exit the car, looked down at his lap and shook his head.

When he did exit the vehicle, Davis was asked by police whether he had anything on him that he wasn’t supposed to have.  He responded that he did, and during a pat-frisk police found a Caspian Arms .45 semiautomatic handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition tucked into Davis’ waistband, prosecutors said. Officers at that time took him into custody.

The vehicle’s operator, a 34-year-old Canton man, admitted possessing a small amount of marijuana when asked about the smell. In light of the beer bottle, the officers asked him to step out of the car in order to determine whether he was operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They determined that he was not, and they issued him citations for speeding, having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, and possessing less than an ounce of marijuana.

Davis was represented by Anthony Ellison.  He will return to court on March 15.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.