Falls police checking on sleeping driver find gun
Jun. 30—Niagara Falls police found a loaded gun while checking on the welfare of a man found asleep in a running car on the 2200 block of 24th Street Tuesday morning.
Officers were called to the 2200 block of 24th Street about 6 a.m. where a man appeared to be asleep in a running Nissan Altima. Police said the car's doors were locked and they knocked on the driver's-side window to wake up the driver.
Once awoken, the driver, identified as Vincent J. Lewis, 38, 2733 Grand Ave., was instructed to turn his car off several times but refused to do so initially. He eventually complied, telling officers, "I was just dropping food off to my sister, everything's all right."
Asked to step out of the vehicle, an officer was patting down Lewis when a lieutenant yelled, "Gun!" after spotting a black handgun on top of the driver's side floor mat and Lewis was immediately placed in handcuffs.
The handgun was later identified as a Hi-Point C-9 which was loaded with one round in the chamber.
Lewis was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
