Bulletproof Vest-Clad Driver Stopped For Drunken Driving In Solon

SOLON, OH — Police found a machete, loaded shotgun and a ski mask in the broken down car of a man stopped in Solon. The man was wearing a bulletproof vest and had been drinking, according to Solon police records.

During Monday's rush hour traffic, a Solon detective driving on US 422 hit heavy traffic. As he slowly cruised through the area, he saw a car in the right berm with its hazard lights on. The driver was walking in the right lane of traffic, causing cars to move around him and congesting the highway.

The detective turned on his emergency lights and pulled behind the man's car. The man approached the officer and said he had run out of gas. Police said the man smelled strongly of alcohol. The man said he had drank two beers.

The man was wearing a bulletproof vest under his shirt. When asked about the odd fashion choice, the man said he was an armed security guard at a pizza shop in Cleveland. He said he did not have any weapons on him or in his car.

Police checked the man's driver's license and found it was suspended. Field sobriety tests were given and the man was then taken into custody on suspicion of operating a vehicle impaired. At Solon Correction Center, he blew a .184 on a breath test.

Officers searched the man's car and found a machete under the driver's seat. In the trunk, police found a loaded shotgun and a ski mask.

The driver, a 40-year-old man from East Cleveland, currently faces charges for improper transportation of a firearm, operating a vehicle impaired, driving with a suspended license and carrying a concealed weapon.