Texas man faces gun charges after OUI arrest

Dave Rogers, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·2 min read

Sep. 9—NEWBURYPORT — A Texas man accused of driving drunk with a loaded handgun in his sedan last Friday was released on $2,500 cash bail following his arraignment Tuesday in Newburyport District Court.

Justin T. Cole, 31, of San Antonio, faces charges of drunken driving, illegal possession of a large-capacity firearm, and having ammunition without an FID card. He was arrested by Newburyport police around 10 p.m. last week near Sullivan Drive. Cole posted $2,500 cash bail allowing him to walk into the courtroom Tuesday for his arraignment.

An Essex County prosecutor then asked Judge Peter Doyle to impose the same $2,500 cash bail. Cole is due back in court Oct. 19 for a pretrial hearing. While awaiting trial, Cole cannot have any firearms or ammunition.

Newburyport police Officer Christopher Mead responded to Sullivan Drive around 9:50 p.m. after police received a report of a suspicious car parked there for a long time. Around the same time, Officer Matthew Whitty arrived on the scene to assist. The officers walked over to Cole's Audi and noticed the engine was still running. They peered inside and found a sleeping Cole and nip bottles on the back seat, according to Mead's report.

Cole was awakened by the officers after considerable effort and appeared disoriented, having trouble finding the button to lower his window. Cole, who said he had been drinking hours earlier, then dropped his license as he was handing it to the officer. Mead then asked Cole to perform a series of field sobriety test, to which Cole agreed. He failed the tests and blew a 0.175 blood alcohol level, far above the legal limit of 0.08.

Around the same time, Whitty asked Cole if he knew where he was.

"Mr. Cole stated 'Ipswich,'" Whitty wrote in his report.

Cole was handcuffed and placed in a cruiser.

Whitty then conducted an "inventory search" and found a loaded 9mm handgun with 15 rounds in it and a box of ammunition containing five bullets.

"I also discovered an empty 28-round drum magazine for 9mm rounds, under the front passenger seat and a kitchen knife that was approximately eight inches in length," Whitty wrote in his report.

Dave Rogers is the editor of the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.