He is placed on leave; he had pleaded guilty to felony weapons charge.
By Angie Leventis
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
Copyright 2007 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
BELLEVILLE, Mo. — A St. Louis firefighter was placed on leave Tuesday after he was sentenced to two years of probation for carrying a loaded revolver in his vehicle on the way to the East St. Louis home of his then-estranged wife.
Jeffrey D. Hayes, 32, had pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon — a felony - in St. Clair County. Hayes said he thought there was another man with his wife on April 24, after the married couple had separated. He drove to her home with a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver in his vehicle. Court documents said the weapon was uncased, loaded and accessible to Hayes.
His wife felt threatened and called the police. Hayes said he had calmed down and decided to turn around and go home when authorities pulled him over and found the weapon.
His wife testified that the couple had since reconciled and have been seeing a counselor.
“He is a good father and a good husband,” she said in court.
She added that he continued supporting her and their three children throughout their separation.
It’s against the law to carry a gun in a vehicle in Illinois unless the weapon is unloaded, cased, inaccessible and the ammunition is separate, Illinois State Police said. The owner must have a valid firearm owner’s identification card. Missouri law allows a person 21 years or older to carry a weapon in a vehicle, even without a concealed-carry permit.
Hayes, who has served as a St. Louis firefighter since October 2001, is used to being on the side of authority; he said his only prior interaction with criminals had been picking up inmates at the jail as an emergency medical technician.
“I am not a bad guy,” he said after the trial.
Fire Chief Sherman George said he had not known about the felony until he was called by the Post-Dispatch. He said firefighters are supposed to notify the department if they’ve been arrested and Hayes had failed to do so.
George said Hayes was put on leave immediately, and the department would conduct an investigation.
“I view this as a very serious matter,” Sherman said.