Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Police reported making an arrest in Franklin, seizing a gun, ammunition, narcotics and recovering a vehicle stolen after executing a search warrant that was a product of an investigation into acts of gun violence in the City of Franklin.

A Franklin Police Department news release stated that on June 23, Franklin police officers, assisted by the Meherrin Drug Task Force and the Virginia State Police and in consultation with the Southampton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, executed a search warrant in the 800 block of Railroad Avenue. As a result of the search, officers seized an AR-style pistol, multiple rounds of ammunition, narcotics and recovered a vehicle stolen out of the Richmond area.

Arrested was Jahlil Malik Smith, a 22-year-old Franklin resident, the release stated. He was charged with concealing stolen property, unlawful possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of distribution of a controlled substance and a felony probation violation. Smith is being held at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail without bond.

If anyone has information about criminal activity within the City of Franklin, they are asked to call Franklin police at 757-562-8575 or Franklin Crime Solvers at 757-562-8599. Information that leads to an arrest can earn the caller a cash reward while remaining anonymous.