A routine response to an emergency call by New Bedford police led to the confiscation of an illegal handgun at a local hotel earlier this week. Patrol units headed to Marriot Fairfield Inn after an emergency call for assistance came in on December 4 at around 7:00 a.m. While officers handled the incident, they discovered a Jennings 22-caliber handgun, complete with a magazine and ammunition, in one of the hotel's rooms. The gun's serial number had been illegally altered, according to the City of New Bedford Police Department Facebook Page.
The man linked to the firearm was quickly identified as 31-year-old Joshua Butler, a resident of New Bedford. Butler was apprehended by authorities as he sat in the hotel lobby eating breakfast. He now faces charges for possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number and ammunition without a license.
Officer Matthew Couture was credited with the arrest; Butler's seemingly mundane morning at the hotel turned into a significant legal predicament. The implications of carrying a defaced firearm speak to a larger narrative, often entangling individuals in legal troubles and contributing to the ongoing conversation about gun control and violence
Further details regarding the case have yet to be disclosed as authorities continue their investigation. Butler now awaits judicial proceedings that will likely further expound on the circumstances leading to his arrest at the Marriot Fairfield Inn.
