Royal City man charged with unlawful firearm possession

ROYAL CITY - Royal City resident Joel R. Havens, 53, faces charges in Grant Superior Court for allegedly carrying a loaded gun in his vehicle without a concealed pistol license.

Grant County prosecutors charged Havens with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful carrying of a loaded pistol in a vehicle and making false or misleading statements to a public official.

The Havens case developed after police were notified on Feb. 20 of a possible drunk driver in the Quincy area, according to court documents.

The reporting party told police he believed the driver of a white Kia coming into Quincy from George was under the influence. He said the driver failed to stop at a stop sign after coming off a side road onto State Route 281.

Police located the white Kia parked near the intersection of Central Avenue South and D Street Southwest in Quincy, according to court records. Police then reportedly observed a male and a female get into the vehicle and leave.

The male driver, later identified as Havens, allegedly made several wide turns and swerved a few times before police pulled him over in the parking lot of Akins Harvest Foods.

Havens reportedly stopped the vehicle with both front wheels fully on the sidewalk, according to court documents. He then allegedly stepped out of the vehicle while the female passenger jumped across to the driver’s seat.

According to court documents, Havens’ speech was slurred. Havens was reportedly unable to produce a driver’s license.

Police then reportedly saw a black pistol on the driver’s side floor board by the gas pedal. According to court documents, the Rugar .22 caliber handgun had a magazine with six live rounds.

Havens reportedly denied drinking or driving badly when questioned by police. He told police he had taken Tylenol with codeine earlier that morning.

Havens also allegedly denied knowing there was a gun in the car, and told police he had just bought the car.

According to court documents, both Havens and the female driver had a blood alcohol content of 0.0 percent.

Havens was then transported to Grant County Jail, according to court documents.