Man arrested after carrying concealed and ready to fire weapons without permit
Submitted by editor on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 4:21pm
A Reno truck driver faces weapons and other charges after he was arrested Sunday in Carson City and found to be in illegal possession of a loaded short barrel shotgun and a fully-loaded and ready-to-fire .44 magnum pistol in his waistband.
John Thomas Aston, 67, was arrested in the 2100 block of Highway 50 East at about 9:20 a.m. Sunday after an officer initiated a stop when the plates on his vehicle didn't match those on record.
According to the arrest report, Aston was stopped and asked about the license plates. He appeared nervous and confused when asked about them. When he was asked for his licenses, Aston, who was wearing a trench coat, reportedly opened the driver's door and exited the car, a gray 1990 Lincoln Town Car.
He was told to get back into the vehicle but didn't comply, according to the arrest report. The man then faced the officer and began to place his hands into his clothing. The arresting officer placed the man into a wrist-lock and faced him away but continued to resist and attempted to break free his right hand from the officer's grasp, the report stated. The officer successfully secured both hands behind the man's back and placed him into handcuffs because of resisting, the report stated.
A second deputy arrived to assist. A pat down of the man found a pocket knife in his front right pants pocket and a five chamber, fully-loaded and "ready to fire" Bulldog Pug .44 magnum pistol within the front left portion of the waistband of his pants.
Following the pat down, officer looked into the vehicle and found the handle and rear receiver to a pistol-grip shotgun, identified as a New England Firearms 12 guage shotgun. The weapon was partially concealed inside a red duffel bag next to the driver on the seat and within arms' reach of the driver, the report stated.
The weapon was a break-barreled shotgun with a live round in the chamber and was ready to fire. It had a modified sling made of rope attached to its stock, with the barrel measuring about 14.25 inches long, according to the arrest report.
The weapons were photographed and booked into evidence. A subsequent check found that Aston doesn't have a concealed weapons permit and had one prior 1988 conviction of possession of a concealed weapon, but no other felony convictions. All the firearms returned "clear" and had not been reported stolen, the report stated.
Aston faces the following charges: Felony possession of a short-barrel shotgun; gross misdemeanor possession of a concealed weapon; misdemeanor unlawful carrying of a rifle/shotgun; misdemeanor fictitious registration; and two misdemeanor traffic violations. Bail was set at $15,000.
