MASK AND GUN LEAD TO MAN’S ARREST

A man dressed all in black and carrying a black bag stood out to the employees and customers of a Deltona woman’s gym Wednesday morning. The suspicious person was lurking around in the parking lot and made the ladies nervous. At approximately 8:30 a gym employee called the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and asked for help. A few minutes later a deputy arrived on scene at 1382 Howland Blvd. and spoke with the man, 26-year-old Hugh Stewart. The man acted nervous, especially when the deputy asked Stewart about a bag sitting under a nearby bench where Stewart had been just a moment ago. It fit the description of the bag the gym employees had seen him carrying. Stewart denied knowing anything about the bag, but as soon as the deputy picked it up to have a look inside Stewart took off running. The deputy found a handgun, loaded magazines and a ski mask in the bag.

Several deputies, a K-9 unit and a Sheriff’s Office helicopter responded to the area to search for the fleeing man. Stewart was quickly found nearby. During an interview with deputies, he admitted that the bag and its contents were his, but he wouldn’t say anything about why he had the items. Stewart was arrested on three charges: carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and resisting an officer without violence. Stewart was transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.