Tennessee Man Charged in Vernon After Guns — Real and Facsimile — Found In Car

VERNON, CT — A 20-year-old whose listed address is in Tennessee was arrested after officers encountered a gun and assorted facsimile guns strewn about the interior of a car, police said.

The car was discovered at 11:47 p.m. Saturday after police received a call about a suspicious vehicle on Orchard Street, police said.

When they looked into the car, officers saw, in plain view, were a Springfield Armory 1911 handgun and several facsimile rifles, according to an arrest report.

Police subsequently arrested Justice Merlin Newhouse, of Dayton, TN on a failure to properly store a pistol in a motor vehicle charge.

The law connected to the charge — CT 29-38g(a)(1) — states that, "No person shall store or keep any pistol or revolver in any motor vehicle that is unattended unless such pistol or revolver is in the trunk, a locked safe or locked glove box." The crime can be classified as a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class D felony for any subsequent offense. Judicial system records indicate he was charged with the misdemeanor version.

Newhouse posted a $25,000 bond at his Tuesday arraignment and is due back in court on Oct. 21, judicial system records show.