Every year, the calls go out as the end of the year nears: please don’t shoot your gun into the air to celebrate the new year. It seems that plea wasn’t heard by a Fresno man, Juan Rolons. Cops who were on patrol heard the sound of gun fire and . . .
They responded to the area and saw a man walking with an AR-15 rifle.
Perhaps Mr. Rolons wasn’t aware that California had outlawed the open carry of long guns back in 2012. He clearly didn’t want to run out of ammo while ringing in the new year, as he was also toting a full ammo can when police found him.
Detectives confronted the man in the street. At first, he was uncooperative and acting intoxicated police say.
Finally, he began listening to the officer’s commands before the situation escalated.
We’re certainly pleased to hear that Mr. Rolons walked away from the encounter without any additional orifices. Now that he’s sobered up though, he has some legal issues to deal with. The report indicates he’s facing a weapons possession charge, so there’s a decent chance he has a criminal record that prohibited him from owning a firearm. We’d guess that additional changes such as discharging the rifle within city limits, reckless endangerment and illegal open carry may follow soon, too.