A Portage man learned a tough lesson Sunday: Don't carry a BB gun tucked into your clothes when shopping for spare parts.

Police were called at 10:30 a.m. Sunday to Wal-Mart, 2950 New Pinery Road, after a customer spotted a man place a handgun under his coat in the waistband of his pants at the small of his back and then walk into the store.

Police, after a search, spotted the man - Brent A. Armson, 39 - paying for a few items at a front register.

Officers quickly took Armson into custody, handcuffing him. He was transported to the Columbia County Jail on a tentative charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

Armson reportedly told police he took the gun to the store because it was broken and he was going to look for parts.

The weapon in question is a red-tipped BB gun, described by police as looking like a Glock automatic pistol. The weapon was not loaded. Armson was carrying the magazine for the weapon in his pocket.

"He probably should have called ahead," said Assistant Chief Kevin O'Neill of the Portage Police Department.

O'Neill said Armson was lucky that no one was injured in the incident and that police did not choose to draw their own weapons on him during the arrest.

Gun owners should carry their weapons in a case, box, or original packaging when taking the weapon in for service or repair, O'Neill said, rather than carrying the weapon where others will see it and assume the worst.

"Think how others perceive you," he said. "You can save yourself a whole lot of difficulty."

The weapon should not be easily reachable, he said.

Armson is free after paying a $500 cash bond on the tentative charge.

District Attorney Jane Kohlwey stated Monday she could not comment on what charges could be filed in the case because she had not received the police report.

sgreen@capitalnewspapers.com

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