Stolen pistol leads to reckless endangerment charge for Stamford man

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STAMFORD — After reporting that his gun had been stolen out of his open car on Monday night, a city man was arrested on a reckless endangerment charge.

Sgt. Jennifer Pinto said police were called to Reynolds Avenue at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on a report of a car burglary that involved a stolen gun. The owner of the car, Christopher Jerome, 26, parked his car at about 8:20 p.m. Monday and, thinking that he was going to get back into the car a short time later, did not lock the doors.

When he got up the next morning, Jerome saw that his driver’s side door was open and his gun had been taken out of the unlocked glove box, Pinto said. Jerome presented his pistol permit to officers and told them that he had more firearms in his home.

Because of the circumstances of the theft, police went into the home and took the guns, a semiautomatic Glock pistol, another handgun and a semi-automatic AR-15.

Under a new law that went into effect Oct. 1, Jerome was charged with a misdemeanor count of unsafe storage of a gun in a motor vehicle in addition to the reckless endangerment charge. The new law makes it a crime to store a gun in a locked car if it is not also put into a safe, locked in the glove box or stored in the car’s trunk.

Capt. Richard Conklin said the state is tightening up its laws where gun storage is concerned.

“We believe storing a gun in a car, even if it is locked, is not a prudent thing to do,” Conklin said. “A car is like a glass box. If you take out any of the windows, it is no longer locked.”

He said he felt obligated to mention that small safes are not a solution to theft either, because they can be removed easily.

Jerome was released after posting a $1,000 court-appearance bond.

Under state law, a conviction for first-degree reckless endangerment is grounds for denying someone a pistol permit.

Jerome’s permit was seized by police and because of the circumstances of the pistol’s disappearance, the permit will probably be revoked by state police, Conklin said.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com