MUKILTEO – A man was arrested carrying an AR-15 style rifle and ammunition on a Mukilteo ferry Wednesday, May 26.
David boarded the MV Tokitae ferry leaving for Clinton around 3 p.m. with an AR-15 style rifle concealed under his jacket and three loaded magazines in his pocket heading to Mukilteo.
According to KOMO news staff, a witness reported seeing the magazines in the man’s jacket pockets.
Washington State Ferry employees immediately notified the vessel captain and Washington State Patrol. The man was reportedly intoxicated, according to Trooper Kevin Fortino, WSP Homeland Security Division Public Information Officer.
Ethell walked into the bathroom where he was closely watched by WSF employees, who were relaying information to the WSP responding to the scene.
There were 200 vehicles on board and 165 walk-on passengers.
WSP Troopers responded, located the Ethell and took him into the custody.
Ethell claimed the rifle was for personal protection, but his concealed carry license was expired. He was booked for concealed carry violation.
Troopers led a full sweep of the vessel but did not find any items of concern before the ferry resumed course to Clinton.
David Raymond Ethell was booked into the Snohomish County Jail May 26 and released the following morning at 6 a.m. He was charged with possession of a concealed carry without permit and dangerous weapon possession by the Everett District Court.
“Washington State Patrol will continue to investigate the incident and circumstances,” Fortino told the Lynnwood Times.
On Monday, May 17, the Supreme Court dismissed a case in Rhode Island that involved local officers entering the home of Edward Caniglia and seizing his firearms without a warrant. A local court allowed the search, claiming that the decision to take the firearms without warrant fell within the Fourth Amendment’s “community caretaker exception.”
According to CNN, the case began when Caniglia, while in a dispute with his wife in 2015, placed his gun on the dining room table and asked her to shoot him.
She declined and spent the night in a hotel. In the morning, when she couldn’t reach Caniglia through phone calls, contacted local police to check on his wellbeing.
Local law enforcement believed Caniglia demonstrated a risk to harm himself and contacted a hospital to admit the man for psychiatric evaluation. His firearms were confiscated after the ambulance carried him away. Caniglia sued local law enforcement for violation of Fourth Amendment.
The Supreme Court sided with Caniglia, holding that the lower court’s interpretation of the Fourth Amendment was broad and unjust. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for an unanimous Supreme Court, ruled the lower court’s decision “goes beyond anything this court has recognized,” according to CNN.
