Crime & Safety

Man Carrying Guns on Cross-Country Trip Arrested for Possession of Pot

Guns were held until he could prove ownership.

A California man was arrested at 12:30 a.m. May 19 in the parking lot near Extended Stay America, 550 W. Grand Ave.

While on patrol, police saw Ronald E. Murphy, 55, of Needles, Calif., standing outside his silver Kia Optima changing his pants. He told police he was driving to California from New York and was changing his clothes before staying the night at the Extended Stay hotel.

He agreed to let police search his car, and they found 4.3 grams of cannabis, a .22 caliber rifle, a .44 revolver and a .22 semi-automatic pistol.

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Murphy was taken into custody, charged with possession of cannabis and released on an $80 cash bond.

His firearms were placed into evidence until proof of ownership could be provided.

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