A police officer on patrol became suspicious of a man in a known drug-selling area, followed him and saw him drop what turned out to be a .22-caliber Ruger handgun, police said.
Norwalk police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the 3:30 a.m. Thursday incident:
The patrol officer driving on Raymond Street at around 3:30 a.m. in an area known as an open-air drug market, saw two males loitering. The officer had previously had contacts with both and believed he had identified them after seeing them there.
One of the men, who turned out to be Jacob Keels, 32, of Ferris St., was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. When Keels saw the patrol car, he immediately walked north at a fast pace. The officer saw Keels was pressing his right hand against his waist, as if he was trying to hold something there.
The officer radioed for backup police and pulled his car behind Keels, following him. When Keels got to the area of 80 Main Street, he turned the other way and ran south, but by this time backup officers were on the scene and Keels was captured.
As Keeler ran, he was seen dropping a revolver to the ground. The gun had been stolen in Bethel in 2007. It had six cartridges in it.
Keels, of Ferris St., Norwalk, was charged with carrying a gun without a permit, criminal possession of a pistol or revolver, theft of a firearm and interfering with an officer. He was held on $50,000 bond and was scheduled to appear later Thursday in state Superior Court in Norwalk.
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