SLIDELL - A Baton Rouge man was arrested with a massive stash of stolen checks Friday afternoon amid an outbreak of mail thefts across the capital area.

The Slidell Police Department said Rashawn Robinson-Mills, 21, was stopped after officers saw him pulling a gun from his waistband while getting into a stolen car with a swapped license plate.

During the traffic stop, police discovered a hoard of over 50 checks reportedly stolen from a U.S. Postal Service mailbox in Baton Rouge.

Robinson-Mills was arrested and booked into the Slidell City Jail, and he was later transported to the St. Tammany Parish Jail. He faces a myriad of charges, including the following:

• illegal possession of stolen things over $25,000
• illegal carrying of weapons
• illegal carrying of weapons in the presence of drugs
• possession of Schedule II drugs
• possession of Schedule I drugs
• possession of drug paraphernalia
• switched license plate
• unlawful production, manufacturing, distribution of fraudulent documents for identification purposes

He was also arrested on an outstanding warrant from Pascagoula, Mississippi, for fraud charges, according to police.

Amid a rash of mail thefts involving the U.S. Postal Service, federal authorities are expected to file additional charges against Robinson-Mills.