Traffic stop leads to gun possession arrest

A 20-year-old North Idaho man was arrested for carrying a concealed handgun without a permit, following a traffic stop in Hayden just after midnight Wednesday.

Robert W. Peterson was with two other men in a black 1992 Honda Civic that was eastbound on Hayden Avenue when a deputy spotted what appeared to be equipment violations on the vehicle. The car was stopped east of Government Way at Baack Road.

Peterson was a back-seat passenger in the car and didn't disclose to a deputy, when asked, whether there were guns in the vehicle, according to a Kootenai County Sheriff's Department report.

Peterson and the other vehicle occupants, a 17-year-old driver and 21-year-old passenger, did disclose having several knives in a backpack on the rear seat.

While collecting identification from the three men, the deputy spotted the handgun strapped to Peterson's left hip and protruding from underneath his jacket, the report said.

The deputy then had Peterson step out of the vehicle to collect the weapon.

A second deputy who had arrived on the scene removed the Glock handgun's full 17-round magazine of 9 mm ammunition and extracted a live round from the chamber.

Peterson then disclosed he had a switchblade knife, with a four-inch blade, in his pocket.

The deputies found three folding knives and one fixed-blade knife in the backpack.

The three men also had an open case of alcoholic beverages, purchased from the Hayden Walmart, the report said.

The three told deputies they were headed to a residence on the 9000 block of North Cuff Road, in Hayden.

Peterson was booked into the Kootenai County jail. Deputies submitted into evidence the Glock, magazine and 18 rounds of 9 mm ammo.

One of the other two men was cited for traffic violations, while the other was cited for possession of a suspended driver's license, which also was seized as evidence.