By: Las Vegas Now Staff
Police say they have confiscated a gun belonging to Jerry Lewis that was found in the 82-year-old entertainer’s carryon bag as he prepared to fly to Detroit from Las Vegas.
Las Vegas police officer Bill Cassell said Tuesday that the actor was cited Friday for carrying an unloaded concealed weapon at the Las Vegas airport.
Lewis’ manager, Claudia Marghilano, says the handgun is a hollowed out prop gun that Lewis sometimes twirls during his show. She tells The Associated Press that the gun couldn’t fire.
Marghilano says Lewis didn’t know the gun was in the bag along with other props.
Cassell says if the gun were merely a prop “it wouldn’t be a weapon and we couldn’t cite him for carrying a weapon.”
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Okay, this is ridiculous… he’s 82 years old for God’s sake and it was probably a non-functional item… good grief. Cited for carrying an unloaded concealed weapon… even I think this is insanity. I wouldn’t have cited him, jeez.
Comment by a cop — July 29, 2008 @ 4:07 pm
Celebrity or not, what is it with these jokers? Is there a different set of rules that these people are expected to abide by? Throw the book at him.
Comment by Oscar — July 29, 2008 @ 6:31 pm
Even if it was not a functioning gun, the possibility of freaking everyone out on an airplane is there. I mean, what would someone do if they saw the gun? I for one would not want to be there to witness the event. Rules are rules. If you do not want to follow them then expect the consequences. If you do not want more rules, remove the people from congress that keep giving us the rules that you do not like.
Comment by JoJo — July 30, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
More Las Vegas police abuse and screw ups.
Mr Lewis, you need to remove every penny from Las Vegas and those organizations that you helped in this vally. Its the only way to teach these rotten cops a lesson, then file a harrassment law suit.
Talk about being dumb. A trainge officer doesn’t know what a prop gun looks like. This was abuse plain and simple.
No wonder there is a World Wide travel warning in effect telling everyone to stay away from Vegas.
Las Vegas police should be ashamed. Mr Lewis is a highly respected member of the world and you don’t treat him like you did.
This is as bad as the cop wo killed the mother in Henderson and we wonder when will ever be made right. To date the cop has NOT been held accountable and justice has failed the community.
Wake up Nevada. This is unacceptable behavior..
Comment by Mr Johnson — July 31, 2008 @ 9:49 am
I call B.S. on this news story. Carrying a concealed weapon in Nevada is NOT a citeable offense. It is a Gross Misdemeanor, which you have to arrest for.
Don’t believe everything you hear!
Comment by nvcop — August 1, 2008 @ 5:37 am
Mr. Johnson you are a goober. The law is the law. Lewis should know better. Treat that bozo like everybody else.
Comment by Freddie Ray — August 1, 2008 @ 9:36 am
Right, as if Jerry Lewis wants to go down in history as the charitable comedian who lost it at the end and threaten to soot random people with a prop gun…
The fact that anyone sees merit in sighting him for that confirms that we are indeed circling the drain.
Comment by Carol Burnese — August 3, 2008 @ 4:20 pm
citing*
Comment by Carol Burnese — August 3, 2008 @ 4:21 pm
Wow, its interesting to see how many people fail to get the point! If this had been an ordinary person, there would not be a news story about it (except the police report of the person being charged and arrested!) Prop or not, anyone else would be arrested at the time of the incident, Lewis went on to his destination with a warning or a citation! Does this not strike anyone else as unfair? one set of rules for some of society, and another set of rules for the other part of society!
Comment by Douglas — August 4, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
Jerry Lewis is and has always been a pompous ass.
He has little repsect for anyone, and genuinely belives he is better than everyone around him.
It’s no surprise that he would try a stupid stunt like this. He was probably deliberately trying to “test” the system, and ends up getting some much needed publicity in the process.
Comment by Not A Fan — August 10, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
I have spent many years working foe more than one airline and have run into Mr. Lewis and his entourage traveling many times. He does expect and usually gets special treatment and gets very upset when he doesn’t get it. I have seen him be very charming on occasion but most of the time very abrupt and demanding. In the old days when people could walk you to the gate, he always had someone carrying his bag, and always expected the airline to let that person get on the plane with him. As a kid, I loved Jerry Lewis movies, but meeting him and seeing this behavior as many times as I have left me a bit disallusioned. Still, we don’t ever know the whole story about anyone and I know he has been very ill in recent years and always travels in a wheelchair, yet he still spends a lot of his time working for his charity. Complicated guy, like the rest of us, I guess. Probably got busy and plain forgot what was in the bag. In my experience I would say it was a crapshoot that they even noticed, they sure don’t notice when liquids are not packed correctly. I’d say it’s fair that they cited him like they would anyone else, but I don’t think its front page news and I’m sure the experience will make him double check next time ( or have his “people” check!)
Comment by McCarranlifer — August 14, 2008 @ 8:31 am