HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. - A Holts Summit man was arrested Monday after a deputy saw him fire a gun on the road, according to Lt. Curtis Hall of the Callaway County Sheriff's Office.
Earnest Nichols, 34, faces charges of unlawful use of a weapon and felony stealing.
Hall said the deputy was parked on South Summit Drive near U.S. 54 at about 12:10 a.m. The deputy reported a vehicle exited the highway onto the overpass and parked 100 feet from the deputy's vehicle. Then, the deputy watched as the vehicle's driver (and sole occupant) exited the vehicle and fired a pistol five times into the air, Hall stated.
The deputy immediately took the driver, Nichols, into custody and secured the pistol. A computer check of the weapon's serial number showed the pistol had been reported stolen in Cole County in 2011.
It was also determined the pistol, a Hi-Point 9mm, had jammed as the shots were fired, Hall said.
Nichols was transported to the Callaway County Jail, where he posted a court-set $5,000 bond.