MONTICELLO – Village Police in Monticello have arrested a 34-year-old Liberty man on felony weapon possession charges.
Police said around 4:37 p.m. on Monday, police received a report of a disturbance about to occur at the Monticello Housing Authority Complex on Evergreen Drive.
Officers were also advised that a man in a white Toyota Camry was reportedly armed with a handgun.
Officers Eric Youmans and Tyrus Walker arrived on the scene and spotted a Camry at a stop sign in the complex. They activated their emergency lights on their patrol vehicles and they pulled up behind the suspect vehicle, which sped off. It was driven by the suspect, Joseph Powell. He jumped from the moving car and fled on foot.
Officers pursued him on foot and saw him pull an item from his waistband and then intentionally toss it. The item struck the side of a building.
Powell was cornered in the complex and ordered to the ground at gunpoint by Monticello Police and a state trooper.
After he was taken into custody, officers found the discarded item which turned out to be a loaded 9 mm semi-automatic handgun with a defaced serial number.
Powell was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence. He was also charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and a violation of parole.
