Details are emerging about the North Carolina pastor David McGee, who was arrested on gun and drug charges in Las Vegas last month. McGee was taken into custody at the Strat Hotel Casino & Tower after security found multiple drugs and firearms in his room. According to a report obtained by FOX5, McGee called hotel security to report missing property, inadvertently revealing to officers that he was in possession of a gun in his guitar case.
Initially, McGee declined to allow officers to search his hotel room's safe but later admitted that it contained fentanyl powder and pills, which he claimed he intended to give to his daughter once he located her. A subsequent search revealed two plastic bags of marijuana, a scale with residue, marijuana-infused edibles, and fentanyl pills and powder. Following the discovery of the AR-15 with a scope in his guitar case along with two handguns and body armor, Las Vegas police were concerned about a potential active shooter situation, given the context and the elevation of McGee's hotel room. Despite the severity of the charges, McGee was released from custody on condition that he stay out of trouble until his court date on December 19, as per FOX5's report.
McGee, the former senior pastor at The Bridge Christian Fellowship and voice behind Cross the Bridge Ministries had documented his journey to find his estranged daughter Sara Ashli McGee on Facebook. His posts described a harrowing mission through what he termed "from the worst and scariest place for my daughter in America . . . the Las Vegas tunnels" according to Julie Roys. An unfortunate social media maelstrom followed his arrest, falsely linking the incident to a potentially foiled terrorist act. The Las Vegas Metro Police Department was quick to clarify that such posts were incorrect.
Traveling by private jet, McGee had reportedly brought the fentanyl from North Carolina and admitted to detectives he was a user of the opioid, and further claimed he meant to distribute the drug to his daughter. Investigators speculated about a mass shooting, drawing shaky parallels to previous tragic events on the Las Vegas Strip. It should be noted though, that as Julie Roys reported, these suspicions were speculative at best, devoid of any concrete evidence linking McGee with such intentions.
David McGee’s story adds complexity to the tale of a pastor who has lost his way and a father desperately searching for answers in Las Vegas. As he awaits his court appearance, the seriousness of the charges and the details of his actions are being closely examined in the legal process.
