Eagle-eyed officers from the Edwardsburg Police may have prevented something much larger when they pulled over an Elkhart man last summer after they say he had been “lurking behind the Stateline Liquor Store in Edwardsburg.”
Turns out that when the Jeep Commander returned to the open roadway, it was pulled over for having an expired license plate. When the driver and his passenger Ty Van Pav were asked to step out of the vehicle, Officer Tanner Sinclair opened the passenger door to let Pav out. He told court officials in a Cass County trial yesterday that on that summer day, August 9th, 2019, he was “stunned to see a Remington handgun fall from that side of the vehicle to the ground.” Sinclair reacted quickly and was able to secure both the pistol and Pav. It was loaded at the time.
Sinclair testified that Pav admitted he did not have a concealed weapons permit and was transporting the firearm. A subsequent search turned up another handgun under the driver’s front seat, and a machete had been positioned between the two front seats.
Sinclair and his fellow Officer David Lyvere arrested Pav and took him into custody not far from the liquor store, and yesterday, Tuesday, December 17th, 2019, a Cass County Jury found Ty Van Pav guilty of the felony of carrying a concealed weapon in an automobile.
DeVante McCullom, on behalf of the people, argued in closing that it was an open and shut case, and the 12-person jury deliberated approximately 5 minutes before returning their guilty verdict.
Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz advised that “If you have a gun in a car, you need to comply with the law. Officers shouldn’t have to face such dangerous circumstances. They have a right to be safe and go home to their families at the end of their shift.”
Pav now faces up to five years for his actions. He is scheduled to appear for sentencing before Cass County Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman on Friday, March 6, 2020 at 8:30 am.
