Marathon man arrested for stolen handgun

A Marathon man is in jail after he was found to be in possession of a stolen handgun during a traffic stop.

Deputies Ian Douthirt and Garrett Bragg were on patrol at 11:30 p.m. Saturday when they saw a green Ford truck pull out of a convenience store parking lot at 55^th Street in Marathon. They recognized the driver of the truck as 22 year old Dustin Pelletier. They knew Pelletier had a suspended driver’s license.

They turned on their emergency lights to stop the truck. As they were stopping it, they saw the driver lean over toward the back passenger side of the vehicle as if he were hiding something.

Inside the truck, behind the passenger seat they found a loaded handgun hidden beneath an orange raincoat. A check on the Taurus .357 Magnum revolver revealed it had been stolen in November from a vehicle belonging to a Marathon woman.

Pelletier was arrested. He was charged with grand theft of a firearm and with driving with his license suspended.