Crime

Going to court in Fresno? Make one last check to be sure you left your gun at home

Image released by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office shows what a firearm looks like as it passes through an X-ray machine.
Image released by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office shows what a firearm looks like as it passes through an X-ray machine. Fresno County Sheriff's Office

A Las Vegas man was arrested at a Fresno County courthouse after he apparently forgot to leave his pistol at home, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Spokesman Tony Botti said Christian Ward, 25, submitted his bag for an X-ray scan Friday at Fresno County Superior Court as part of the routine entrance-screening process. Deputies reported detecting a loaded Taurus handgun and a bag of methamphetamine.

Ward was at the courthouse to take care of some legal matters, Botti said. Ward was booked on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was in Fresno County Jail on Monday evening with a bail of $355,000.

Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies said they found a pistol during a routine X-ray scan Friday at Fresno County Superior Court. A Las Vegas man was arrested.
Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies said they found a pistol during a routine X-ray scan Friday at Fresno County Superior Court. A Las Vegas man was arrested. Fresno County Sheriff's Office

This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 6:14 PM.

JG
Jim Guy
The Fresno Bee
A native of Colorado, Jim Guy studied political science, Latin American politics and Spanish literature at Fresno State University, and advanced Spanish grammar in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
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