A Leesburg man with a prior felony conviction was arrested after officers found two loaded firearms in his apartment.
Officers responded to the Cypress Oaks apartment complex, located at 336 Sandy Oaks Cir., regarding a disturbance around 2 p.m. Friday, according to an arrest report from the Leesburg Police Department. The girlfriend of 41-year-old Christopher Lee Hunt advised that she was having issues with her boyfriend of four years, and he threatened her.
Upon arrival, the officers met with her in the leasing office of the apartment complex. The couple had been living together for over a year, were both listed on the leasing agreement and slept in the same bedroom. But they had been having issues for a while, and she wanted to break up with him, the report said.
That day, Hunt had come into the leasing office where the girlfriend worked and started a disturbance. She now just wanted her Glock 43x back from him and for law enforcement to ask him if he would leave the residence. She had given him the gun to hold onto when she was living in Orlando a few years ago, and he had refused to give it back ever since, the report said.
When she tried to get the gun back from him, he said things to the effect of, “What gun?” and, “Call the police.” He had been abusive in the past, and she feared him, the report said.
The girlfriend added that the second bedroom in their apartment had both of their belongings inside, but most of the items were his. She did not know where her gun was within the room, but she knew it was in there. She asked the officers to be present while she retrieved her gun due to her fear of Hunt, the report said.
She then escorted the officers to her apartment, where Hunt met them outside. He agreed to speak inside and was asked for the location of the gun. He stated he did not know what gun they were referring to and denied knowledge of it, the report said.
He advised that the girlfriend had access to the second bedroom and had stuff inside. Once the officer told her to go get the gun, he stated that they were letting her go through his belongings without his permission. They next asked if he owned any weapons, to which he claimed to have proof he had been gifted a firearm, the report said.
However, Hunt did not specify anything further. His criminal record showed he had a previous felony conviction on Oct. 13, 2010, in North Carolina. He stated he did not know he was a convicted felon and had never been arrested before in his life, the report said.
He went on to say he had once been charged with a misdemeanor in North Carolina, but he was not arrested for it. He only pleaded guilty to get custody of his children. He was overall argumentative and uncooperative with officers on scene, the report said.
The girlfriend stated she did not know Hunt was a convicted felon. She knew he went to prison once, though, the report said.
She proceeded to search the second bedroom for her gun. She ultimately found it, along with a black Bodyguard .380 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun in a black holster and a black rifle with a magnifying scope attached. Each gun contained a fully loaded magazine with nothing in the chambers, the report said.
Hunt later advised that he did not know how the girlfriend’s gun got in the second bedroom, insinuating it had been planted there. He stated he did not own anything in that room, and he did not know who the items belonged to. His only belongings in the apartment were the TV, meaning the guns were not his. He also reiterated that he was not a convicted felon, and the information must have been incorrect. , the report said.
The North Carolina native was arrested on charges of two counts of possess firearm by convicted felon and two counts of possess ammo by convicted felon. He was booked at Lake County Jail and released after posting $40,000 bond.