Boozy gunman gets bottle, and jail, after liquor store incident

Cache County sheriff's deputies say a drunken gunman got an unexpected jail "chaser" after he put his pistol on the counter of a liquor store while buying more booze.

The 42-year-old Lewiston man walked into the State Liquor Store in Richmond about 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday. He went to the clerk to buy a bottle of alcohol — then pulled a handgun from his pocket and put it on the counter.

The clerk calmly completed the transaction and gave the inebriated shopper his purchase. Then man picked up his gun and left the store; the clerk followed, took down the man's license plate number as he drove away and called 911.

Deputies traced the plate to the man and his residence in Lewiston, where he was arrested without incident. The handgun was seized as evidence.

Investigators determined that while the suspect had indeed taken out the handgun and placed it on the counter, no threats were made. However, deputies did learn that the suspect was restricted, due to a past criminal history, from possessing the weapon.

He remained in the Cache County jail in lieu of $5,583 bail on suspicion of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony, and carrying a concealed dangerous weapon, a class B misdemeanor.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims