The suspect — Michael Leon Ward, 22, of Sugar Lake Drive in Canton, Ga. — was placed in the cell after a strip search, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.
Ward claims the gun was already in the cell when he was placed in it, according to information from the sheriff’s office.
No charges related to possession of the gun at the jail had been filed Friday night, and the investigation was continuing with a medical examination.Charges allege that Ward resisted arrest. He was subdued with a stun gun and taken to Onslow Memorial Hospital where he was examined and given “a shot to calm down,” according to court records.
Ward was initially searched by the Highway Patrol upon arrest and by deputies during booking, authorities said.
“Arrestee Ward was strip searched prior to being booked into a cell block for the … traffic violations,” the press release states.
http://www.jdnews.com/articles/fugit...y-accused.htmlWhile behind bars, Ward called out to jailers claiming someone was trying to kill him and that a gun was in his cell. Jailers searched his cell and found a .38-caliber pistol in the toilet. Ward claimed he found the gun in his bunk and tossed it into the toilet, according to an affidavit by Sheriff’s Sgt. Rocky Maestas.
The gun lacked bullets, and no bullets were found in Ward’s cell, the release said.
Investigators believe Ward hid the firearm in his rectum prior to being taken into custody, according to a search warrant for the car he was driving when he was arrested by the Highway Patrol.
According to the sheriff’s office, Ward was taken to Onslow Memorial Hospital for possible injuries that may have occurred to Ward's rectum during concealment the revolver, which has a six-inch barrel. He was still being examined at the hospital on Friday night.
Authorities say that while the gun was not loaded, it was test fired by OCSO crime scene investigators and determined to be functional.
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