A report of a disturbance Sunday at Walmart involving a man with a gun led police to arrest a suspect on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon.
“Officers located the subject and initiated a traffic stop,” said Woody Spencer, spokesman for the Kinston Department of Public Safety. “The firearm was in plain view, and the suspect admitted to being a convicted felon, so they confirmed that and he was arrested.”
Police found the man suspected of causing the disturbance driving in the 1700 block of West Vernon Avenue and stopped his car. When police searched the 2001 gold Ford Taurus, they found and seized a $250 Amadeo Rossi .22-caliber long rifle, a $25 box of Federal .22-caliber long rifle ammunition, $20 in .22-caliber rifle individual rounds, a $20 gun cleaning kit and $10 in other miscellaneous property.
The driver, Jason Michael Vredenburg, 26, was charged with felony possession of a firearm by a felon and booked into the Lenoir County Detention Center under a $40,000 secured bond due to his criminal record.
He last spent time in state prison from April 2011 to May 2012 on consecutive sentences for felony indecent liberties with a child and felony possession of a deadly weapon in prison. Vredenburg was serving 18 months’ probation for a September conviction of driving while license revoked.
He’s due in Lenoir County District Court on Dec. 2.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.