An armed Ohio felon claiming to be a Moorish National was arrested at a local Walmart.
Michael Lamar Ward, 37, was driving a silver Ford SUV at about 1 p.m. Sunday when his vehicle nearly struck three people and then hit a curb at the Walmart in Bushnell, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle did not have a license plate and Ward was not wearing a seatbelt.
Ward claimed he was a member of the sovereign citizen movement, the Moorish American National Republic.
Ward was in possession of a loaded 9mm Taurus handgun and provided a false name and date of birth. A fingerprint check revealed his true identity. Deputies learned that Ward had been convicted of felony theft in 2010 in Miami Township, Ohio.
He was arrested on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and providing false information to a law enforcement officer. He was booked at the Sumter County Detention Center where a hold was put on his custody by the State of Ohio.
