(Press Release) Some years back Sheriff John Anderson held a press conference highlighting the dangers of openly carrying replica weapons. “They’re built to look like the real thing,” he said, and warned about the potential for deadly consequences when brandishing them in public.
“There may come a day, he said, when one of our deputies is in a situation, fearing for his life and the safety of the public and in making a split second decision may have to discharge his firearm.”
Sergeant Matt Mollet responded to a shopping center located off Highway 49 with reports of a man carrying a gun.
When he arrived, the suspect was still carrying what appeared to be a semi-automatic weapon.
58-year-old Edwin Rogers was taken into custody near a fast food restaurant, but not before he was ordered twice to drop his weapon.
Rogers ignored the first order, but finally dropped it after Sergeant Mollet’s second command, followed by, drop it or I shoot.
Only when the gun was recovered did Sergeant Mollet realize that it was an imitation.
Edwin Rogers was booked into Madera County Department of Corrections on exhibiting a firearm and open public display of an imitation firearm. His bail was set at $1,000, and he is scheduled to appear in Court May 22nd.
TXT 24
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