Thursday, August 24, 2006

There's a lesson in this story.

There are at least TWO very important lessons in the story below. Read the story first.
Cops: Rider gave cabbie a bad tip -- a stolen gun

Boonton man arrested for weapon possession

BY ROB SEMAN
DAILY RECORD

MORRISTOWN -- A taxi driver was arrested Tuesday for accepting a stolen gun that a fare gave him on the way to the airport, police said

Police were called to E-Plus taxi service on Morris Street around 8 a.m. after an employee reported that a co-worker showed him a handgun he received earlier in the day.

The driver, Robert J. Martin, 44, of Boonton, was called back to the company headquarters, where police were waiting. Martin told police that a woman who had been driven to the airport earlier that day gave him the gun and a Swiss Army knife because she did not want to get caught by security checks at the airport.

Martin took Morristown police to his home on Liberty Street in Boonton and gave police the black, semi-automatic 9 mm handgun, which he had placed in a locked closet. The gun was loaded.

Martin was charged with possession of a weapon and receiving stolen property. He was released on $5,000 bail. Morristown police also notified authorities in Florida, where the passenger was traveling.

The owner of E-Plus, George Enslin, declined to comment about the incident on Wednesday, except to say, "it wasn't his fault."

First lesson, if you're going to the airport to fly someplace, leave your weapons at home.

Second lesson, if someone gives you a gun as a tip, YOU have two choices to make immediatly. You either a.) Call the police at once (This should be your only choice, but some of you will want the second one.). OR b.) DO NOT show your tip to fellow cab drivers. By one of Murphy's laws, one of those drivers is bound to be a typical law-abiding citizen, who probably doesn't like you, or doesn't like guns, and is likely to call the cops on you. Anyone who was a TRUE friend, would have advised you to turn it into the police, rather than risking arrest.

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