WASHINGTON D.C., DC — A Lafayette man is facing charges after the Secret Service found him with a car full of weapons outside the Embassy of Ukraine.
Stephen Struthers, 49, was arrested Thursday. Court documents say police spotted Struthers and a 35-year-old Ohio man both wearing military camouflage clothing and acting suspiciously outside the Embassy.
When officers stopped them, Struthers said there was a "shotgun and some blades" in his car. He went on to say that he and the other man came to the embassy in Washington, D.C., to volunteer to fight for Ukraine.
They were asked to get out of their car and when they did, members of the Secret Service searched it. Inside they found a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun, ammunition, a machete, seven fixed blade knives, knuckles and a laser pointer.
Struthers said the shotgun and set of knuckles were his. The other man claimed the bags in the truck, which included the machete, a dagger and several throwing knives. He also had a fixed-blade knife in his boot, documents said.
Struthers didn't have a license to carry in Washington, D.C. He's now charged with carrying a shotgun outside a home or business.
Struthers appeared in court Friday and was released. He's been ordered to appear back in court April 6.