Cops Arrest Man With 8 Guns

The callers reported that the pick-up truck driver had a gun and was pointing it at people in the parking lot of Ikea.

It was Wednesday at 6:02 p.m. and Officers Marc Doherty and Steven Spofford were headed to the scene, when another call came in from a driver who said the same pick-up truck had struck his Audi and that the driver pulled a gun on him, too.

Here’s what happened, according to a police department release:

When the officers pulled up, folks pointed to the man responsible. He was walking away. The officers commanded him to stop and raise his arms. Instead, the man reached toward his waist. The second command was obeyed for a second. Then the man put his hands into his pockets.

With guns drawn, the officers again told him to show his hands. He pulled them from his pockets, dropping coins to the ground. The 66-year-old Bethany man was handcuffed. No one was injured, according to Officer David Hartman, spokesman for the police department.

The first witness told police he was the Audi driver. He said the pick-up driver was driving quickly, swerving in an out of traffic. He said the man struck his car on Brewery Street near the Ikea lot entrance. He said his passenger ran after the man as he entered the lot. The passenger said the man pointed a gun at him and kept going.

Kept going, that is, until he crashed into a white Range Rover. The passenger kept up with the pick-up driver who, according to another witness, pointed the gun at him again and threatened to fire. The witness said he believed that the pick-up driver saw several people on their phones and put the gun in the truck.

Another witness told police that the Audi passenger told the pick-up driver not to move until police arrived, but the man shouted some vulgarities and again pointed the gun at him and threatened to shoot.

As the Range Rover’s owner arrived to view the damage, Officer Doherty reviewed the crash recorded on Ikea’s surveillance system.

The pick-up driver claimed that he had a medical condition that prevented him from performing any field sobriety tests. He asked for medical attention and an ambulance was summoned. His gun permits were in order. All but one was registered to him. His pick-up’s registration, however, had expired a year ago.

The man, who appeared intoxicated to the officers, was patted-down. He had a gun holster on his waist but it was empty. Doherty asked him where the gun was. The man said he knew the cops were coming and didn’t want it on his person. He said he’d put it in his pick-up truck to avoid any more problems. He told the officers he was a registered gun owner and had a few more in the truck. While the officers searched his truck, he told them he’d consumed “several shots of Bourbon.” He also said, “I’m obviously not a good drinker.”

In all, the officers confiscated, from the truck, a loaded Sig Sauer P238, .380 caliber handgun, Colt .45 Gover model with 2 magazines, a Sig Sauer Mosquito .22, a Taurus .357 magnum “The Judge” revolver, Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm shield with two magazines, a Ruger SP101 .357 magnum revolver, a H&R Arms .22 revolver model 922, a rifle CX4 Storm Beretta with 3 magazines, fifteen .40 caliber rounds, a weapons magazine, a flash suppressor, a Winchester box containing thirty-four rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, a Winchester Box containing fifty rounds of .45 caliber ammunition, a shot shell 9mm luger box containing ten rounds, one Mini-Mag 22 LR containing eighty-one 40 grain rounds, a Crown Royal bag containing nineteen miscellaneous rounds, another Crown Royal bag containing nineteen miscellaneous rounds and a Crown Royal bag containing twenty-five miscellaneous rounds.

The guns and ammo were confiscated and the man’s truck was towed. The pick-up truck driver was taken away by ambulance. He was charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, breach of peace in the second degree, interfering with police, carrying a firearm while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, evading responsibility, threatening in the first degree and reckless driving. At the hospital, the man submitted to a blood alcohol test. Once the results are reported, he could face additional charges.