He said the gun was a gift from his grandmother. Now he’s facing a weapons charge
A 21-year-old man was arrested for a weapons violation after telling police that a handgun found in his vehicle was a birthday gift from his grandmother but that he didn’t have a concealed weapons permit, according to a Myrtle Beach police report.
Police pulled over Gaige Caleb Johnson for a traffic stop Saturday at the intersection of the 3300 block of Ocean Boulevard and Kings Highway after smelling a strong odor of marijuana coming from his vehicle, the report states. Police also saw smoke being blown out of the driver’s side window, according to the report.
Police attempted to get Johnson to pull over and he eventually obliged, the report states. When approaching the car, the officer again smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to the report.
The officer told the Johnson the vehicle would be searched because of the strong smell of marijuana and asked him where the drugs were located, the report states. Johnson told the officer he had just finished smoking it, according to the report.
The officer then instructed Johnson and a passenger to get out of the vehicle and they were detained while police conducted a search, the report states.
Police did not find any marijuana, but found a small handbag with a Glock 27 Gen. 3 handgun and high-capacity magazine in it, according to the report. Johnson told police that the gun was his, the report states.
Johnson told police he’d received the gun as a birthday gift from his grandmother but that he didn’t have a concealed weapons permit, according to the report.
Johnson was placed under arrest for unlawful carry of a handgun, the report states.
This story was originally published February 24, 2019 at 2:54 PM.
