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Man arrested after asking cops for directions to drug deal, police say

ANDERSON, Calif. — Police arrested a felon and suspected drug dealer early Tuesday after officers said he got lost on his way to a drug deal, illegally parked a car and asked a pair of officers for directions.

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“It should be noted that our officers are always willing to assist the motoring public with directions with they get lost; however, we would encourage the public not to illegally park their vehicles and approach our officers in their parked vehicles,” police in Anderson, California, said Tuesday in a news release. “Especially while illegally possessing loaded firearms and drugs.”

Two Anderson police officers were sitting in their patrol vehicles around 1:45 a.m. Tuesday when they spotted a black BMW. The driver of the car, identified as 40-year-old Chris Meng Lee, of Redding, parked it in front of a fire hydrant and a red-painted curb before approaching the officers, police said.

He asked for help getting directions to a mobile home park, but authorities said the streets he gave officers didn’t intersect. Suspicious, the officers asked to search Lee’s vehicle.

Officers said they found a loaded firearm in the driver’s side door. The officers said they found 1.5 pounds of marijuana in the BMW’s trunk.

During a search of Lee’s cellphone, police uncovered text messages that showed he was on his way to the mobile home park to sell marijuana, authorities said. He apparently got lost along the way.

Police said Lee is a felon, which prohibits him from having a firearm or live ammunition.

He was arrested on several charges, including carrying a concealed loaded firearm in a vehicle, possession of marijuana for sales and driving without a valid driver’s license.

He remained jailed Wednesday.