Eureka Police arrested a 61-year-old Lonedell man for illegal possession of a firearm. The man had previously been convicted of a felony and was not allowed to have a gun, police reported.
An officer at about 2 a.m. May 22 saw a GMC SUV with at least one person inside it parked at the commuter lot, 18615 Hwy. 66. When the officer checked the SUV’s license plate, he learned it was registered to a different vehicle, the report said.
A 71-year-old Lonedell woman was in the front passenger’s seat, and the man was in the back of the SUV with a pit bull. The man said the SUV had broken down, and he was working to get license plates for the GMC, according to the report.
The officer asked the man to get out of the SUV, and when he searched the man, the officer allegedly found a shotgun shell casing in the man’s pocket. The man allegedly said there were no weapons in the SUV, but he later said there was a rifle in the SUV that belonged to someone else, the report said.
The officer found a loaded 20-gauge Mossberg shotgun in the SUV, according to the report.
The man was arrested and taken to the Police Station, where he was booked and released pending the application for charges, the report said.
Eureka Police will seek a charge against the man through the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for unlawful possession of a firearm, Lt. Michael Tapp said.