Disturbance leads to handgun arrest (copy)

A 46-year-old Jennings County man faces a Level 5 felony charge of carrying a handgun without a license after an incident near an apartment complex in North Vernon.

Perry Proctor of North Vernon was arrested Thursday evening by police responding to a report of a disturbance at a storage unit facility on West O&M Avenue near Oak Meadow apartments, according to a report from Sgt. Andrew Richmond.

Richmond, the department’s public information officer, said one of the people involved in the disturbance told police Proctor also was involved and that he had had a weapon just before police arrived.

During the ensuing investigation, police didn’t find a weapon on Proctor but were able to determine he did not have a permit to carry a handgun and a prior felony conviction also prevented him from possessing a handgun, Richmond said.

While still on the scene, Officer Lucas Newsom found a Taurus 9mm handgun hidden under a pile of leave near a fence inside the storage facility unit, Richmond said.

That gun was identified as the one Proctor had possessed, Richmond said. Security video also verified it was the same handgun, he said.