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Texas Police Arrest Man Dressed As Banana While Carrying An AK-47

Doug Mataconis
22

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Banana-man-with-AK-47-jpg

So, this happened:

BEAUMONT, Texas (KBMT) - A Beaumont man was cited by police after riling up motorists by standing at an intersection carrying an AK-47 while dressed as a banana.

Derek Poe, owner of Golden Triangle Tactical gun shop, said the stunt was part of the store’s grand opening after moving locations.

Poe said the man in the banana suit was holding an AK-47 across his back with the barrel pointing down and holding a sign with an arrow pointing toward the store.

He said this idea was to attract customers to the store.

A Beaumont police spokesperson said officers temporarily detained the 18-year-old and found he had the rifle with a drum magazine attached with at least a 50-round capacity

Obviously, the bananas have gained consciousness and are beginning to rebel.

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22 responses to “Texas Police Arrest Man Dressed As Banana While Carrying An AK-47”

  1. bill Avatar
    bill

    everyone knows you can’t dress up like a banana and solicit business at intersections…..carrying a gun is no problem though.

  2. John Peabody Avatar
    John Peabody

    Fruits with guns? Who’d a thunk?

  3. Moosebreath Avatar
    Moosebreath

    He thought it would have a peel to tell everyone to corm on down to his shop. The police were looking to stem the tide of customers.

  4. Neil Hudelson Avatar
    Neil Hudelson

    Don’t even try, guys. Bill has already won the thread.

  5. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    Should have dressed up as a string bean. Everybody knows fruits aren’t allowed to carry weapons in Texas.

  6. Matt Bernius Avatar
    Matt Bernius

    Life imitates Simpsons…

    Since I can’t find a clip of it, here’s the transcription of Homer’s marketing strategy from the episode “And Maggie Makes Three”

    Homer stares at a bowling ball for a while after looking up “marketing”, then leaps forward: “Of course!” Homer stands in front of his bowling alley firing a shotgun repeatedly into the air and entreating the screaming people around him to come and bowl.

    Lisa: Mom, make Dad tell the story right!

    Marge: That’s what really happened.

    Lisa: Oh…

    Homer: [voice-over] My marketing plan attracted a record number of police and fire officials. But few stayed to bowl….

  7. OzarkHillbilly Avatar
    OzarkHillbilly

    @Neil Hudelson: I will never surrender.

  8. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    This could be a slippery slope.

  9. C. Clavin Avatar
    C. Clavin

    I cannot believe that this guy even got a second glance in Texas.

  10. john personna Avatar
    john personna

    Background:

    Texas Mall Erects “No Guns Allowed” Signs After Man With Ar-15 Charged With Disorderly Conduct

    Parkdale Mall in Beaumont is clarifying its ban on all guns on it’s property in response to an incident where Derek Poe was charged with disorderly conduct for carrying an AR-15 slung across his back. The man, who owns a tactical equipment store in the mall, still maintains his innocence and is now engaged in organizing an open carry march described as, “a stroll down Dowlen Road to exercise our Second Amendment Rights Long Guns on display, slung in a non-threatening, casual manner, of course.”

    Apparently Poe left the mall because they wouldn’t let him walk the halls with his guns, leading him to this new location, and new notoriety.

  11. rudderpedals Avatar
    rudderpedals

    Banana Splits opening for Ted Nugent, nothing to see here folks move along

  12. Rodney Dill Avatar
    Rodney Dill

    The story is bogus… he’s clearly a Plantain.

  13. Franklin Avatar
    Franklin

    I’m comfortable with guns. It’s strangers with guns that I have a problem with. Particularly ones that appear to have gone bananas (figuratively or literally in this case). I’m sure the NRA thinks I should feel safer around that guy, though. He’s probably law-abiding, and nothing else matters.

  14. David in KC Avatar
    David in KC

    Hey, AK-47, are you being held by a banana, or are you just happy to see me?

  15. Rafer Janders Avatar
    Rafer Janders

    From the article it reads as if the man was “cited” (though for what it’s unclear) and temporarily detained, but not that he was “arrested”, per Doug’s headline (and since he wasn’t apparently committing any crime, it’s unclear what he’d be arrested for). Where does that claim come from?

  16. ernieyball Avatar
    ernieyball

    @Franklin: It’s strangers with guns that I have a problem with.

    Hope you don’t live in Kansas…

    http://cjonline.com/news/2013-02-03/kbi-database-most-homicide-victims-know-their-killer

  17. JKB Avatar
    JKB

    One assumes he had a Federal Firearms License for the AK-47 since he wasn’t charged. Or perhaps it wasn’t an AK-47, but rather, a semi-automatic in the AK-47 form factor?

    And really, if you saw a guy dressed as a banana carrying an AK-47 replica, wouldn’t you think, hey, I should visit the tactical gun shop. Bananas do go bad very quickly.

  18. MarkedMan Avatar
    MarkedMan

    @JKB: ok. That was actually funny.

  19. Matt Avatar
    Matt

    @ernieyball: That’s true on a federal level. The vast majority of murder victims knew their murderer.

  20. bill Avatar
    bill

    @Matt: and they weren’t killed with “assault rifles”.

  21. ernieyball Avatar
    ernieyball

    @Matt: That’s true on a federal level.

    I assumed as much as I have read the stats to support that claim in the past. My quick search only turned up the Kansas information. Didn’t have time to dig deeper in the infinite internet data bank.

  22. Ron Avatar
    Ron

    Cited him for what? Exactly what law was he breaking, and what is the Constitutional basis for that law? He was obviously advertising for a gun store, the gun was on his back and not being held in any threatening manner, and (unless he’s a complete idiot) was completely unloaded.

    “Assault rifle?” I think not. An AK-47 is not an assault rifle unless it has select fire. In other words, the ability to go full-auto (machine gun). Select fire rifles (machine guns) are not available for sale to the general public. Therefore, this AK-47 could not have been an assault rifle.

    Sounds like a big, fat, profitable lawsuit for this 18-year-old. His constitutional rights were clearly violated, including, but not limited to, the right to bear arms, the right to freedom of speech, and the right to peaceably assemble. I wish something like that would have fallen in my lap when I was that age. I would have been rich for my entire adult life. What a gold mine for this kid. What a stupid, uninformed police force they have in Beaumont. And if this kid is smart, he will take them to the cleaners.

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