A convicted felon was arrested in Norwalk on Wednesday after police allegedly found him with a gun designed to shoot pepper balls.
Mathew Clark Jr., 41, of Norwalk faces charges of criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a dangerous weapon, failure to comply with fingerprint requirements and carrying a pistol without a permit, according to Lt. Tomasz Podgorski of the Norwalk Police Department.
Podgorski said the arrest came as officers were on “selective enforcement” targeting quality-of-life concerns on Woodward Avenue when they spotted two individuals around 4 p.m. standing in front of a store that had “no loitering” signs. According to Podgorski, Clark was identified as one of the individuals and was found to have a co2-powered Byrna HD firearm designed to shoot pepper-balls — which contain irritants similar to pepper spray.
Podgorski noted that Clark is a convicted felon prohibited from having a gun. He was taken into custody and transported to the police department, where he allegedly refused to be fingerprinted, according to Podgorski.
Clark’s bond was set at $200,000. He is set to go before a judge on Dec. 3.