Drunk man with gun near a Lakewood Yeshivah arrested

A drunk man with a gun was arrested just outside a Lakewood Yeshivah, TLS has learned.

At approximately 3:00 AM this morning, Lakewood Police‪ Officer Michelle Banuelos was patrolling when she spotted a vehicle parked near a Yeshivah, with the lights off, but the exhaust running.‬

Deeming it suspicious, Officer Banuelos approached the vehicle and noticed a man sleeping behind the wheel, police tell TLS.

After numerous attempts to wake the driver, he finally began to move around, at which point the officer noticed a gun – which was later identified as a BB gun. She immediately called for backup and ordered the man out of his vehicle at gunpoint.

The driver, a 24-year-old male, was arrested and charged with weapon possession, and lodged at the Ocean County County Jail.

A search of the vehicle turned up with negative results of any other weapons, and police believe the incident is isolated and does not appear to be a threat to the public.

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23 COMMENTS

    • Really? A gun is a gun. He could have terrorized and shot and injured people with it. There’s a reason they’re illegal and there’s a reason he was charged. Good job officer and lpd.

  1. Kudos to Michelle. You couldn’t meet a sweeter gal. She’s relatively new at LPD but she’s got her antennas up. Congratulations. We are lucky to have her with us. @share Er, obviously you have never seen some of the perfect replica BB guns. You cannot tell the difference on the really good ones, even if you hold it in your hand.

  2. The point is that now that we know it’s a BB gun, it should say BB gun.

    BB guns do not pose a serious threat and can not seriously/fatally hurt anyone even at point blank range.

    This is another fear mongering clickbait headline and just bec this was outside a Yeshiva building, doesn’t make it more dangerous. In fact, the chances of anything being close to a Yeshiva is very high in lkwd.

    Why was he arrested? It’s not illegal to be drunk and it’s not illegal to have a BB gun. Unless sitting inside a running car while drunk is considered DWI then what’s the problem?

  3. Possession of any fire arm, including BB, that uses any form of propulsion to fire a projectile is considered a gun in NJ. Especially if it fires metal Babe over a certain size. Possession of anything that someone may mistake to be a real firearm is also illegal. As for DWI…the car doesn’t not have to be running, simply need the Intent and Ability to drive while intoxicated. I do agree the title is a little over exasperating..Overall all good eye by the Officer.

  4. Wow! I looked it up. A BB Gun is considered a firearm in NJ, the same as a real gun. NJ is one messed up state. What’s next water and NERF guns?

  5. @BillyW, while being hit by bb pellets is not as harmful as bullets, it is still not the same as being hit by water or nerf balls. U pro gun ppl r going way over the top. I don’t want ppl with bb guns running around town, thank you. Thank you Officer Banuelos & LPD!

    • I was shot by a BB gun, point blank in the leg, it stung a lot, for about 30 seconds, than I felt nothing, didn’t leave a mark. A paintball gun can hurt a lot more, they come out with a lot more force than a BB gun since they use compressed air.

      You are the one being over the top.

  6. I’ve been hit with a BB more than once. It feels no worse than getting hit with a rubber band. A bullet is dangerous because it can puncture the skin and damage insides and cause bleeding. A BB can not. Why not let teens plink cans in the backyard? It doesn’t cause problems, reduces stress, increases coordination, is a great social activity, etc.
    But in NJ lets ban everything because there’s a 0.0001% chance by some fluke it could cause minor damage.

  7. Besides nj treating a BB gun like a real gun it’s one the only states that make it illegal to carry a firearm even for self protection and don’t say just get permit to carry they are practically non existent in great state of nj

  8. It does happen and often when somebody points a B B gun at a police officer , ANd the officer thinking it is a real gun and shoots back at that person , Ocassionaly that person gets inadvertently hurt or worse, Thank you police officer, Good work ,

    • If someone is foolish enough to point it at someone especially a cop then they’ll get what’s coming to them, but why should it be illegal to own or carry because of that? Lots of legal things can be used in the wrong way and can cause more harm than a BB gun. Stone, Knife etc…

    • Yup, plastic bags are the same as BB guns…Not. Not everything is equal. How ridiculous to put them all in the same category. And even though I am against banning bags, calling it fascism is an absolute disgrace!

  9. My son and his friend were playing with, I think, a BB gun, and they shot it off by mistake. A ball sized pellet entered my son’s hand near base of his thumb, and it had to be removed surgically. Luckily there was no nerve damage.

  10. ,00Believe it or not CHOP reports that nearly 7,000 Pellet or BB Gun injuries were treated in emergency rooms in 2005 alone. Many of them devastating!

    • A pellet is alot more dangerous than a BB. A BB is a little metal ball while a pellet is shaped more like a small bullet. Pellets can hurt alot more and even penetrate skin, it is very unlikely that a BB will penetrate as it is fully round, doesnt hurt more than a paintball as someone metioned above. In fact, I’ve been hurt by a paintball more than by a BB.

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