Two Arrested on Weapons Charges in Meriden

MERIDEN, CT - Two local men were arrested on weapons charges early Sunday on Glenn Hills Road, according to police.

Arrested were Christopher Dingwell, 18, and Tracy Rumley, 19; Dingwell was charged with Possession of a Facsimile Firearm, Weapons in a Motor Vehicle, Tampering with Evidence, Carrying a dangerous Weapon and Conspiracy to Carry a Dangerous Weapon. Rumley was charged with Conspiracy to Carry a Dangerous Weapon.

Police said the two were passengers in a suspicious car parked on Glenn Hills Road at about 1:15 a.m. As officers approached the vehicle it drove off - without headlights on - and Dingwell threw an item, later determined to be a "facsimile" gun (often a pellet gun), out of the window.

Once the car was pulled over, police also found brass knuckles and a ski mask in the vehicle. To find the gun thrown from the window, police used K-9 officer Anouke.

Both Dingwell and Rumley were released after each posted $2,500 bonds, and both are scheduled to appear in court on April 11.

Photo: Christopher Dingwell, left, and Tracy Rumley. Photo credit: Meriden Police Department