An alleged gun thief may have given police the clues they needed to find him after slipping and falling in the mud, causing the pistol to discharge.
Maj. Stephen Rubino of the James City County Police Department said officers responded to the 4700 block of Minutemen Way in Lightfoot at about 4 a.m. Tuesday after receiving a report of a gunshot. When officers arrived, the person who called in the report told police he heard the gunshot, then discovered a Kel-Tec Model P11 9mm handgun had been stolen from the center console of his son’s unlocked vehicle.
Officers found footprints in the mud they tracked to a residence on nearby Mobile Lane, which is located in a trailer park off Centerville Road. At that residence, they found 40-year-old Corey Lavaughn Parrott. Rubino said Parrott told police he stole the pistol and that he slipped and fell in the mud when he was walking, causing the gun to discharge.
Police recovered the firearm at the residence. Parrott was arrested and charged with grand larceny of a firearm, reckless handling of a firearm and discharging a firearm in public. Police are unaware of the bullet that was discharged striking anything. There was no damage to the vehicle.
Rubino said it’s “not advisable” to store a firearm in a vehicle, but if it must be done, lock the vehicle and secure the firearm in the trunk. He also recommended storing ammunition separately from the gun, as police officers are instructed to do at home.