Gainesville Police arrested a local man Tuesday after police reported he was carrying a gun and 100 rounds of ammunition in his backpack with no permit.
Officers arrested 27-year-old Philip Beaven Ciano on charges of carrying concealed weapons, according to an arrest report.
At about midnight, an officer noticed Ciano riding his bicycle without proper lights on Northwest 23rd Terrace.
When asked for ID, Ciano put his bag on the ground and started looking for his ID when the officer spotted the grip of a .22 caliber revolver in the backpack, according to the report. The officer tackled him to the ground. The gun was fully loaded.
During questioning, Ciano said he had been shooting in the woods earlier and forgot to take the gun out of his backpack. He said his mother was with him and could confirm his story.
When officers contacted her, she said the events never happened and told police her son is “mentally unstable and severely depressed,” according to the report.
Ciano told officers he bought the ammunition earlier at Wal-Mart. Officers asked Ciano if a surveillance video would show him buying the ammunition, and he changed his story, saying he actually bought it a week ago at M&C Army Surplus.
Ciano was booked into the Alachua County Jail at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, where he remained as of press time in lieu of a $40,000 bond.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 2/13/2014 under the headline "Man arrested for carrying revolver, 100 ammo rounds"]
