A Watertown man faces criminal charges after leaving his pistol sitting on top of a vehicle in his driveway.
Late on the morning of Aug. 5, Watertown Police received a report of a firearm sitting on the hood of a vehicle parked in the driveway of a home on Waltham Street, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor.
“(Officers) located a 9 mm loaded pistol on the hood of a Jeep Cherokee,” said O’Connor, who added that it had a magazine loaded and a round in the chamber.
Police knocked on the door of the home and a 15-year-old boy answered, but he did not own the pistol. The home, O’Connor said, is also close to Bemis Park.
Police were able to determine the registered owner of the pistol, a 24-year-old man who lived at the location but who registered the firearm in Falmouth, O’Connor said. Officers were able to speak to the owner by phone.
“He said that he must have placed it on the vehicle as he loaded up another car and left for Falmouth,” O’Connor said.
Police requested a court summons from Waltham District Court for the 24-year-old Watertown man for improper storage of a firearm, which was accessible to minors. The charge is a felony.
Police confiscated the Smith & Wesson pistol. Whether the man will be able to keep his firearm’s license, O’Connor said, will be up to the Falmouth Police Department because they issued the license.