JAMESTOWN, N.D. (KFGO) – A 61-year-old man faces a felony weapons charge after an employee discovered a handgun left behind inside a southeast Jamestown bar Thursday afternoon.
Milton Theodore Stoppleworth, who is homeless, was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm while prohibited, a Class C felony, according to a news release from the Jamestown Police Department.
Police officers were dispatched around 3:35 p.m. Thursday to a licensed liquor establishment after a bar employee reported finding a gun inside the business. Responding officers recovered the handgun along with several other personal belongings that had been abandoned by a male patron.
An investigation into the abandoned property led officers to identify the patron who had possessed the firearm as Stoppleworth. Investigators determined that Stoppleworth had left the establishment and the immediate area prior to their arrival. A subsequent records check revealed that Stoppleworth has a prior criminal conviction that legally bars him from possessing any firearms.
A search followed, and at approximately 7:05 p.m., Jamestown police officers spotted Stoppleworth walking in the roadway near the 200 block of Seventh Street Southeast.
Officers took Stoppleworth into custody without incident. He was transported to the Stutsman County Corrections facility, where he was being held while awaiting formal charges.
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