Forgotten purse leads to felony gun charge
Man’s girlfriend left bag at bar with his weapon inside
A Detroit man is charged in Ferndale with carrying a concealed weapon after police say his gun was found in a purse his girlfriend mistakenly left behind at a bar they visited.
Ron M. Bradford, 23, was charged in a video conference arraignment on the felony charge Monday in the Ferndale police lockup by 43rd District Magistrate J. Patrick Brennan.
A manager at Bobcat Bonnie’s,
240 W. Nine Mile Road, called Ferndale police about 10:30 p.m. Saturday after a purse was found that someone left behind with a gun inside it.
“The manager told the officer the owner of the purse had just called,” said Ferndale police Detective Brendan Moore, adding that the manager gave police the woman’s phone number.
The hostess at the bar found the purse after Bradford and his girlfriend had left their table, police said, and officers arrived to collect the purse, which contained a 9 mm handgun.
Moore said police called the woman.
“She was instructed she would have to come to the police station with ID to reclaim her purse,” he said. “When asked who the gun in her purse belonged to she hung up the phone.”
Eventually, the woman and the suspect showed up at the Ferndale police station together.
Bradford told police the gun was his.
He gave police his ID and registration for the weapon, police said. However, police said the suspect had no concealed pistol license to carry the gun.
“He said it (was legal) under open carry gun laws,” Moore said. “But a handgun has to be holstered and in plain view to open carry (a gun). He thought the gun being in a purse was acceptable. He was misinformed. To open carry a gun has to be visible at all times.”
At that point, police arrested Bradford for carrying a concealed weapon.
At his arraignment Monday, the suspect was released on $2,500 personal bond and requested a court-appointed attorney.
His bond conditions prohibit him from possessing any guns or dangerous weapons.
The charge against Bradford is punishable by up to five years in prison.
He is due to appear in court by video for a probable cause conference at 1 p.m. Feb. 22.