Ohio sheriff suspends concealed weapons permit of armed Ohio man who wanted to see Obama in NC

Ohio sheriff pulls gun permit of man in NC arrest

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio sheriff suspended the concealed weapons permit of an armed man who authorities say told them he wanted to see the president in North Carolina, and a report given to The Associated Press said the sheriff’s office recently lectured the man about proper gun handling.

Coshocton County Sheriff Tim Rogers cited Joseph Sean McVey’s arrest Sunday for the permit suspension. He described his action as a suspension pending the outcome of the North Carolina investigation.

McVey had a handgun at his side when he was spotted by police in an Asheville Regional Airport parking lot Sunday just after Air Force One departed, police said. His car was loaded with police equipment, including a siren and lights, and had a note with formulas used for firing a rifle with a scope, authorities said.

McVey, whose mother lives in Asheville, was released Tuesday under a $100,000 secured bond on a misdemeanor charge of going armed in terror of the public. Rogers sent the letter to McVey at the Buncombe County, N.C., jail Monday.

The suspension was not the first time the sheriff’s department had contact with McVey about his handling of a gun. A sheriff’s office report released to the AP said deputies questioned McVey in January.

McVey, a member of a volunteer group that helps police and firefighters, stopped to see if a couple who had pulled to the side of the road needed help, according to the report.

After a man at the scene refused to respond, McVey went back to his car, retrieved a .40-caliber handgun and placed it in his holster so that it was visible, the report said. He walked back to the car, where the man was talking to the woman through her window, the report said.

“I asked if there had been a wreck or what had happened. He swore at me and came towards me,” the report quotes McVey as saying.

McVey said he stepped back, called a dispatcher on the radio, explained the situation and was told he could go.

Shortly after McVey left the scene, sheriff’s deputies pulled him over at gunpoint until the situation could be sorted out, the report said.

McVey was not arrested but was lectured on the proper way to handle a gun in a car, according to the report. Rogers said Tuesday it was the deputies’ choice not to arrest him.