A 42-year-old Hartford man is facing 16 charges after Bristol police arrested him following an attempted flight from a traffic stop. The case includes drug- and firearm-related allegations, including a loaded high-capacity handgun.
Bristol police were responding to a suspicious person complaint when officers found Courtney Byrd asleep in the driver's seat of his car, according to WFSB. Byrd was arrested after fleeing officers.
Connecticut law allows adults 21 and older to carry up to 1.5 ounces, or about 42.5 grams, of cannabis in public, according to statutory summaries from Flannery Law.
The case includes firearm-related charges, according to WFSB.
A Drug-Factory Charge
Connecticut General Statutes § 21a-277(c) classifies operating a drug factory as a felony, according to legal documentation from Allan F. Friedman Law. Scales and cash may be considered in allegations of sale or intent to sell, but do not automatically make a marijuana-possession charge a felony.
WFSB reported that Byrd faces 16 charges, including reckless-endangerment, attempted-assault-on-a-public-safety-officer and firearm-or-ammunition-possession charges.
A June Bristol Police Stop
Bristol police activity has included a June 4 stolen-vehicle stop in which the driver fled; officers later located a loaded firearm with armor-piercing ammunition, according to The Bristol Edition.
