Convicted felon arrested with stolen gun at Ferguson Grove

One person is in custody after Poplar Bluff police responded to a call at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday of a man brandishing a firearm toward others at Ferguson Grove Park.

The man was described as a Black male with a gray shirt and blue pants, and upon arriving in the area, Cpl. T.J. Akers saw a subject matching that description.

“Akers observed the subject walk behind a tree and bend down as if he were laying an item on the ground, then walk away from the area,” Capt. J.R. Keirsey said in a news release.

Behind the tree, Akers found a silver Sig Sauer P229 Elite pistol laying on the ground.

The subject, according to the release, later was contacted at the Main and Selma intersection and identified as 41-year-old Casual Banks.

Witnesses, the release said, reported Banks had threatened them with the gun prior to officers’ arrival.

Banks was taken into custody and taken to the police department for booking, Keirsey said.

During booking, Banks admitted he recently purchased the firearm, which he knew was stolen, for $100.

At the time of his arrest, Banks was a convicted felon who was recently released from prison.

He was lodged in the Butler County jail and, Keirsey said, because Banks was a felon in possession of a firearm, the case will be referred to a federal prosecutor for review.