West End man charged and released after allegedly brandishing air pistol

A 46-year-old Alexandria man was charged with two counts of brandishing a firearm earlier this month after allegedly pointing a CO2-powered handheld pistol at a contractor working in his West End home.

On Sept. 5 (Tuesday), the contractor called police after the resident, Greco Gomez, allegedly brandished a firearm against him. The victim told police that he was working in the basement and took the trash outside and was “shocked” when Gomez allegedly threatened to shoot him, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.

The victim told police that Gomez allegedly pulled a black pistol from his waistband, pointed it at the victim’s abdomen, turned and then walked back to the entrance of the two-story house. At the front door, Gomez, who is a tenant in the home, then allegedly turned around and pointed the pistol at the contractor again, according to the search warrant affidavit.

Police found that Gomez is a convicted felon prohibited from owning firearms and charged him with two counts of brandishing a firearm, according to the search warrant affidavit.

No firearm was found. Instead, police searched his room and confiscated a Byrna SD handheld pistol, three magazines, four empty ammunition tubes and boxes of CO2 cartridges, according to a search inventory.

The Byrna SD is legal in all 50 states, and does not require a background check for purchase. It costs $379.99, and has an effective range of 60 feet, according to Byrna. The company says their pistols are not firearms, since they are powered by compressed CO2 cartridges, like airsoft and paintball guns.

Byrna also sells three different types of hard plastic “Less-Lethal Self-Defense Ammo,” featuring “some of the strongest chemical compositions on the market,” the company said on its website. Additionally, the kinetic projectiles the company sells can reportedly break the side glass window of a vehicle from 30 feet away.

According to Byrna, the physical effects of being shot by one of their projectiles include: “Burning in the throat, inability to breathe, shortness of breath, nausea and excruciating physical pain.”

Gomez goes to court on October 10.

Via Google Maps