NATCHEZ – A joint response by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks led to the arrest of a man after deputies found a loaded firearm at the Natchez Port.
Authorities said the incident happened Aug. 24 after MDWFP contacted the sheriff’s office around 2:27 p.m. for assistance.
Officials had received information that several people were reportedly seen on a Facebook Live stream fishing in an area of the Natchez Port that is closed to the public.
Deputies and wildlife officers responded and made contact with three people. MDWFP advised them that they were trespassing.
During the encounter, deputies saw a backpack in a folding chair that Christopher Payne identified as his. Payne gave deputies permission to search the bag, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies said they found a loaded Iver Johnson Cadet .22-caliber revolver containing six rounds of ammunition. An additional .22-caliber round was also recovered from Payne.
Investigators determined Payne is a convicted felon, and he was arrested on a charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Payne was transported to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office without incident.
Sheriff Travis Patten credited cooperation between the sheriff’s office and MDWFP for the arrest and firearm recovery.
Payne is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
