Police: Danbury man threw gun out at police station after shooting leg

Ross Avery Markey Ross Avery Markey Photo: Contributed / Danbury Police Department Photo: Contributed / Danbury Police Department Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Police: Danbury man threw gun out at police station after shooting leg 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

DANBURY — Police say a 27-year-old man who shot himself in the leg threw the gun away in front of police headquarters — and then walked inside to seek care.

Ross Avery Markey was charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, and carrying a pistol without a permit after police found the gun in the grass near the front sidewalk of the police station on Main Street, Detective Lt. Mark Williams said Thursday.

He said Markey came into police headquarters around 7:45 p.m. Oct. 16 with a gunshot wound to his left leg near his knee. “He told the responding officers that he accidentally shot himself while driving his car minutes earlier,” Williams said.

Markey told police the gun went off when he tried to move it to the pocket in the driver’s side door. But when police asked him about where the gun was immediately after the shooting, he “lied to the officers,” Williams said.

At one point he claimed to have given the gun to a friend, but then also said he stashed the gun somewhere, police said. He told police he did not want to get into trouble.

Police then made an “unusual discovery,” Williams said.

“He did stash the gun, but he did so by throwing it from his car as he was coming to the police department for help,” Williams said. “The gun was thrown on the grass near the main entrance of the police department, which was found the next day by an observant investigator.”

The .380 caliber silver handgun was found loaded, cocked and ready to fire with a round in the chamber, police said. The serial number had been filed off.

It was located not far from the Laurel Gardens public housing complex, “where several children reside,” Williams said.

Markey did not have a permit to carry a gun, police said. A search of his car by police also turned up cocaine.

Williams said Markey was in pain from his gunshot wound, but the bullet did not hit bone or any major arteries. The bullet did not hit anyone else, police said, and he did not appear to be intoxicated when he came into the station.

The case is one of several alleged accidental shootings in Danbury.

In November, a 29-year-old gas station owner was charged after police said he accidentally fired off a shell while “familiarizing himself” with a shotgun he legally purchased in the woods near an I-84 exit ramp. No one was hurt, but drivers on the highway saw the gun go off.

And in September, a Danbury man was charged with first-degree manslaughter after police say he shot his friend in the chest while he was handling a gun while high on crack cocaine. The man and his girlfriend initially tried to pin the Brewster man’s killing on another man, but were later charged after the girlfriend changed her story during an interview with police.

Markey was taken to Danbury Hospital for treatment. The Lincoln Avenue resident was also charged Monday with possession of a controlled substance, second-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with an officer, and illegally altering the marks on a firearm — a felony.

He was released after posting $20,000 bond, and is due back in court on Dec. 20.