Man arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm, drug offenses
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Idaho Falls Police responded to the area of 1800 Hollipark for a report of a suspicious vehicle Monday shortly after midnight.
Officers arrived and located Austin Blakely sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle with no license plates.
Police said the vehicle was parked in a driveway with the engine running, and due to prior knowledge regarding Blakely, officers recognized him and knew that his driver's license was suspended.
Officers made contact with Blakely and confirmed he was aware his driver’s license was suspended.
Officers identified a passenger in Blakely’s vehicle as the protected party of a No Contact Order and took Blakely into custody at that time for violation of the No Contact Order.
Through the window in plain view, officers located a .22 rifle with a drum magazine.
Blakely has a prior felony conviction and is prohibited from being in possession of firearms.
Officers conducted a search of the vehicle and locate two additional firearms, a Remington 870 shotgun and a .22 pistol.
The .22 pistol was located in a backpack that had been at Blakely’s feet on the floor of the driver’s sitting area.
Blakely and the passenger gave officer’s different accounts of how the firearms had made it into the vehicle and who they belonged to.
After officers pointed out inconsistencies in the stories, Blakely eventually stated he had been in possession of at least one of the firearms, the .22 pistol.
In the backpack, officers also located ammunition for all three firearms, 12.6 grams of a white crystalized substance suspected to be methamphetamine, and various items of drug paraphernalia, including syringes, a scale, ledger and a number of small plastic baggies.
Blakely was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of a No Contact Order.
Blakely was booked into the Bonneville County Jail.
