A Houston man was arrested on multiple charges after police found a stash of guns including an AR-15 in his room early Sunday at the top of the Hyatt Regency ahead of the downtown hotel’s massive New Year’s Eve celebration, authorities said.


According to Click2Houston, police at the hotel called for backup after they attempted to arrest a man for being intoxicated and trespassing.

When backup arrived, police noticed ammunition in the man's hotel room on the 28th floor, Lt. Gordon Macintosh with Houston police told local media.

The man was arrested for unlawfully carrying a weapon and trespassing. When investigators looked into his room further, they located an AR-15, a shotgun, a handgun and lots of ammunition, Macintosh said.

The situation was "contained" and there were no specific threats to Houston, according to a tweet from Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.





A police spokesman said Sunday afternoon that investigators couldn't speculate about the man's intent.




The Hyatt's New Year’s Eve celebration for 2,000 people spanning four floors with a 50,000 balloon drop will go on, but security will be tight according to Tom Netting, a manager at the hotel.

“The safety and security of our guests and colleagues is our top priority, and consistent with the hotel’s prepared security plans, heightened measures are in place on New Year’s Eve,” Netting said in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “We are fully cooperating with authorities on an investigation, and further questions should be directed to the Houston Police Department.”

Cops tried to tamp down fears of a massive planned attack. "There was not an arsenal," an official familiar with the case told the Chronicle .

One guest in the building at the time told the newspaper the hotel didn't tell him anything about the incident, though the police presence didn't have much impact on the lobby crowds as patrons returned from nearby bars.

"There wasn't a big disruption," 32-year-old Zedshan Zakir, who was leaving a wedding reception when he spotted a man in cuffs on one side of the atrium, told the Chronicle.

The man's white Chevrolet Silverado was located and towed to be searched and examined, authorities said.

Investigators are working to learn why the man had the weapons.

Amid nationwide concerns over recent terrorist attacks, the NYPD has deployed officers at every hotel in Times Square, sealed off a massive section of Midtown Manhattan and plans to check everyone’s bag—twice—with bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors as 2 million revelers are expected to ring in 2018.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017...tion-police-say.html

Cache, huh? Most of the other news outlets are reporting is as an "arsenal".

An AR, a shotgun, a handgun, and some ammo in a hotel room... Not necessarily anything nefarious.

Could just be that a guy in town for a 3 Gun match got a little too drunk at his hotel.

There has got to be more to this story. Three guns in a hotel room isn't uncommon, I mean I'd rather have them up there than in the truck where an upstounding citizen from the planet Houston could easily relieve me of the burden of having to tote them around.

And last I checked, you were allowed to be drunk in your home (or in this case home away from home).

Did I miss something in the article?

I'm confused about what he was charged with. Trespassing even though he had a room there? Maybe he was asked to leave because he was drunk. Not sure.

Is the weapon charge maybe for carry in a 30.06 area or maybe no permit?

Confused.

So ridiculous the media and likely the endless attaboys by the police to themselves. I'm sure they believe they just stopped the next Vegas massacre.

HoLee chit! A rifle, pistol and shotgun?! Hell I travel more heavily armed than that most days!

Usually I have two pistols and a knife and a couple of extra magazines on me if I leave my house.

What's up with the trespassing charge? Didn't he have a room? How did the police get involved? Did he make threats?

Am I missing something?


ARman

Unlawfully carrying...presumably because he was intoxicated.

quote:

Originally posted by ARman:

What's up with the trespassing charge?

Probably just a bs add-on charge that will likely be dropped.

A trespass charge can be made if it is a separate or private venue in a building.
Example:
Large hotel with a private room for a wedding reception. If you enter the room uninvited, are asked to leave and refuse, its trespassing. Even as a paid guest with a room in the hotel, you have no right to intrude on the private function.
This type of situation is probably what brought about the dudes arrest and the discovery of the "arsenal".

Most of the prohibitions on carry in Texas are based on property rights, as in an owners right to prohibit carry on their property. Therefore, many carry related offenses are related to trespassing.

A drunk Texan who owns an AR. Who'd a thunk it.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
A drunk Texan who owns an AR. Who'd a thunk it.

Yeah, WTF? This is news?

quote:

they located an AR-15, a shotgun, a handgun and lots of ammunition

That's an arsenal, alright.
Lots of ammunition? Probably 50 rounds.

He should have just left them with his horse.

The news says he had a cache - a rifle, a shotgun, a pistol, and ammunition. But the police say it wasn't an arsenal.
At what point should the public panic, cache, arsenal, or is it the presence of ammo? Was it live ammo?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

Could just be that a guy in town for a 3 Gun match got a little too drunk at his hotel.

First thing I thought of when I saw the list of guns in the 'arsenal'...

------------------------------------------------

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:


So ridiculous the media and likely the endless attaboys by the police to themselves. I'm sure they believe they just stopped the next Vegas massacre.

Did you read this?

quote:

Cops tried to tamp down fears of a massive planned attack. "There was not an arsenal," an official familiar with the case told the Chronicle.

The press has scanners and likely are able to read all the coded dispatch screens to gleen details about this call. I'm not seeing to police chest bumping and high fiving. Likely the press is spinning dramatic to stoke fears on New Years eve and sell fish wrappers.

There was no photo of him on Fox News. . .

Not an 'average' name, either - Russell Lawrence Ziemba.

I wonder if he's a lily-white Republican country-club/NRA member, or 'something else?'


It's not really possible, IMO, at this stage to ascertain a motive based on what was in that article. Maybe he was just packing self-defense weapons. Maybe he was trying to plan something more. I'm sure the cops/interrogators will come to a reasonable conclusion after they spend time with the guy.

quote:

Originally posted by gw3971:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:


So ridiculous the media and likely the endless attaboys by the police to themselves. I'm sure they believe they just stopped the next Vegas massacre.

Did you read this?

quote:

Cops tried to tamp down fears of a massive planned attack. "There was not an arsenal," an official familiar with the case told the Chronicle.

The press has scanners and likely are able to read all the coded dispatch screens to gleen details about this call. I'm not seeing to police chest bumping and high fiving. Likely the press is spinning dramatic to stoke fears on New Years eve and sell fish wrappers.

Thanks. No, I missed that.

Just another opportunity for Art to get on tv..