No One Hurt
by Bea Peterson
Officers of the Hoosick Falls Police Department arrested an 18 year old male on a gun possession charge as a result of a traffic stop over the Thanksgiving holiday. [private]The subject, Damian Squires, who is the owner of the vehicle stopped, lives in Bennington, VT, where he obtained a 9 mm handgun. He drove to a party in Buskirk where he allowed another individual to drive his vehicle without letting that person know the handgun was under the front seat. The driver was pulled over for traffic violations and upon investigation the handgun was discovered. Squires was subsequently arrested for Criminal Possession of a fire arm, unlawful possession of certain ammunition as well as two counts of criminal possession of a weapon – a metal knuckle knife and a kung fu star.
Squires was arraigned before Judge Thomas Restino and remanded to the Rensselaer County jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail.
“This could have turned into a very serious situation,” said Hoosick Falls Police Chief Robert Ashe. “It was 3 am and young kids were driving around with a loaded handgun under the seat of their vehicle. Officers did an outstanding job with the traffic stop securing the individuals in the vehicle and obtaining the weapon without anyone getting hurt.”
The investigation is continuing, with the Department now focusing on where the party was and whether alcohol was involved. Anyone having information is asked to contact the Hoosick Falls Police Department.[/private]