(The following report by Kim Steele appeared on the Gary Post-Tribune website on June 8.)
CHESTERTON, Ind. — An Amtrak passenger’s complaint about another passenger carrying a weapon led to the arrest of an Elkhart man Saturday after police stopped the train at 8th Avenue in Chesterton.
Eddie J. Bonner, 48, was arrested for felony possession of marijuana and misdemeanor carrying a pistol without a permit. Bonner was taken to Porter County Jail.
Police said an Amtrak conductor contacted police at 11:16 a.m. about a passenger carrying a firearm on the train. Police said another passenger saw a chrome handgun in Bonner’s pocket when he fell from his wheelchair.
When police boarded the train, they located Bonner and found a Smith and Wesson .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a black magazine containing six bullets. There were no bullets in the chamber when police recovered the pistol.
Police said they searched a gray duffel bag hanging from Bonner’s wheelchair and found a Ruger .22-caliber black revolver with a 4-inch barrel. The weapon was empty and no bullets were found in the bag.
Bonner was asked if he had anything else and police said he produced a bag of marijuana from his jacket pocket. Police found another bag of marijuana inside Bonner’s duffel bag, and a small Davis Industries .38-caliber semiautomatic unloaded pistol with a magazine containing three bullets.
Police said a third bag of marijuana was discovered in Bonner’s shorts pocket when he arrived at the police station.
Police said the total weight of the marijuana found on Bonner was 40.5 grams. No reason was given for why Bonner was carrying the guns and marijuana, or where he was headed.