Man carrying gun in Walmart cites 2nd Amendment rights; police disagree

Staff report

BOARDMAN

A township man was arrested Wednesday after he was discovered carrying a gun in Walmart for which he didn’t have a permit.

Christopher Adams, 21, of Afton Avenue is charged with carrying concealed weapons, a fourth-degree felony offense, according to a police report.

The charge stems from an incident reported shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday, while police were at Walmart for a separate incident. Officers were alerted that a man carrying a gun under his jacket had just entered the store.

Police called back-up and entered the store, where an employee told them that Walmart does not prohibit the open carrying of firearms in the store. Openly carrying a gun is legal in Ohio, but concealed carry requires a permit.

Police then found Adams and asked if he was carrying a gun and had a carrying a concealed weapon permit for it. Adams reportedly told police he was carrying a gun and did not have a CCW permit.

“At that point, I calmly displayed my service handgun and pointed it at Adams,” an officer reported. “As Adams put his hands in the air, this caused his jacket to open up, and ... I then observed [tucked in a waistband holster] a fully loaded, Smith and Wesson 9 mm handgun with 16 bullets in it.”

Police also found a knife and two loaded magazines on Adams, according to the report.

Adams reportedly complained “that he was engaging in the ‘open carry’ of firearms and that [police were] violating his constitutional rights,” but police informed him that while open carry is legal, his weapon “had been clearly concealed.”

“So I am being arrested for wearing a large coat?” Adams reportedly asked police.

Police, after seeking advice from a prosecutor, ultimately determined there was probable cause to charge him.

Adams was arrested and booked, and then posted bond.