Police have arrested a 22-year-old Norwalk man accused of running from police and tossing a loaded gun into trash behind a church.
Police responded to a store at 90 South Main Street in Norwalk just before 10 p.m. on Sunday to investigate reports of people loitering and said Joseph Ray took off running. As he ran, he held his waistband with his right hand.
When officers chased Ray behind St. Joseph’s Church, he pulled his right hand from his waistband and reached into a garbage can, police said.
Officers captured Ray in a yard at 74 South Main Street and an officer who checked the garbage can found a loaded .22 caliber handgun, police said.
Ray was previously arrested near 261 Ely Avenue on July 17 for carrying a pistol without a permit, police said.
He has been charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, interfering with an officer, loitering about school grounds, possession of a weapon on school grounds and simple trespass.
Bond was set at $75,000.
