[tommy]

COVINGTON, La. -- A Northshore man who stopped to pick up what he thought was a tennis bag found himself in possession of a high-powered military assault rifle Tuesday.


According to air conditioner repairman James Simmons, he was driving down Highway-190 near Covington when he spotted the bag in the middle of the road.


“First I said, ‘oh that ain’t nothing,” recalled Simmons. “But I said ‘that looks like a tennis racket type bag.”




WWL-TV
James Simmons
But what Simmons found in the bag was certainly not a tennis racket: he had stumbled upon an AR-15 assault rifle and seven fully loaded magazines of ammunition.


“I'm like, ‘is this some drug dealers’ or just some hit men?’ I didn’t know what to think,” he said. “I was like, 'who in the hell would have something like this that you could lose?’”


Simmons says he immediately called 911, and St. Tammany sheriff's deputies quickly solved the mystery.


It turned out the weapon belonged to a state trooper.

WWL-TV
An AR-15 assault rifle similar to the one Simmons found


According to officials, the officer didn’t realize the weapon had fallen out of the trunk of his patrol car until he got home that night.


His laptop computer had apparently hit the trunk release button and “with him driving down the road, the trunk didn’t actually fly wide open so he could observe it,” explained Trooper Kevin Allen of State Police Troop ‘L’. “It kinda’ stayed low with the wind against the trunk, and he lost his rifle.”


Simmons says he was happy to return the gun to the trooper, and his boss is proud of him as well.


“I can imagine many people would have done something with this gun that could have lead to harm to other people,” said Simmons’ boss Mel Gillory “By James picking this weapon up and getting it out of circulation and off the street could have saved a person's life.”


“It kinda’ restores your faith in society that there are good people out there,” Allen said.


State police say they consider the loss of the gun to be an accident, and the trooper will not face disciplinary action.


Officials are, however, looking at making changes to patrol cars in an effort to keep such an incident from happening again.

[wes]

Probably lucky the SWAT team didn't show up and arrest him for having a stolen gun.

[wes]

Also,I don't think I believe the troopers story. Bet he left it on top of the trunk.

[PAPA G]

must be pretty bad not to notice a trunk lid unlatched!!! and it would take a mighty bounce to make the guncase jump out, he must have left it on the trunklid, lies lies lies.

[tommy]

he is just lucky a honest man found it. that's a criminal's dream gun i bet

[Sniper[MI]]

Quote:      

Originally posted by wes Also,I don't think I believe the troopers story. Bet he left it on top of the trunk.

Howdy Wes!

Great minds think alike?? I was gonna say the same thing......

[oneastrix]

I'm thinking about the position of the trunk release button of a Ford Crown Victoria.....it's right in the center of the dash, just below the AM/FM radio. It is possible that lap top could hit it, but very very very unlikely...............

And an AR15 is not an assault rifle! It does not rock and roll.....

[tommy]

maybe them cop's should start carrying ak47's huh !!those babie's rock and roll. he probably left it on the trunk like you guy's say .i wish i would have found it . i would have returned it with empty clips lol:assult: :assult: :assult:

[Doglips]

Tommy Glad you said that...was thinking I was the only deviant on this board.....I would have been looking up accessories for it in the TAPCO catalog if I found it

I like the line I read somewear...why do I won an "Assult rifle"?...incase me or my family is assulted.

Im gona have to go with the left it on the trunk or roof......just dont see it bounceing out of a trunk.

[alan c.]

That cop's excuse is pretty lame.

[tommy]

yea the trunk idea don't go.everyone knows that if you leave you'er trunk open in louisiana as bumpy as the roads are around here that trunk would have been making alot of noise bouncing
up and down.and from the picture of the gun there is no damage what so ever.i would have had alittle fun with that gun before returning it has some nice accessories on it too.if you want to see the picture and read the story go to www.wwl.com

[Calvin]

I don't know about the Crown Vics in Louisiana, but the ones in Ohio have to have the gear shift in the "park" position before the trunk release will work. Plus, he would have to of have heard the trunk lid thumping, even if it was just a little bit! If he didn't, maybe he needs his hearing checked, as well as his memory..

[Klaus]

AR-15s never were assault rifles.

[wes]

I would have shot it,and taken it totally apart before I gave it back. "Gee,I don't know,that's how I found it."

[jerry]

Return the lower reciever, use the rest to build your own gun. Finders fee

[dhermesc]

Those Crown Vics have extremely deep trunks, the only way a rifle would "bounce out" is if there was so much stuff in it that the rifle slid out from the top of the pile. As for needing to be in park to release the trunk that could vary from model year to model year, and the true police specials might have an override. I know some county departments in Kansas have the airbag disconnected so they can "bump" a car without them going off.

As for the rifle, I would have kept it on the assumption that it was safer in my hands then the idiot that left it laying in the middle of the road. In this case I would have been right.

:assult:

[Stopper]

I would have been torn, but I probably would have picked it up and brought it home. Finders keepers and all. But if it had a 3 shot burst setting on the selector switch I would have been calling the law to come get thier gun.