Great Barrington — Great Barrington police arrested two men last night after multiple incidents involving a firearm.
At 10 p.m. last night, police were called to the town beach at Lake Mansfield for a report of shots fired. Upon arrival, officers were told that two men driving a pickup truck had fired a handgun several times in the parking lot of the beach, striking a storage shed. There were no injuries as a result of the gunshots.
Minutes later, officers received a second call. This time, a clerk at Cumberland Farms on Main Street reported that two men in a pickup truck were causing a disturbance. When the clerk confronted the pair, one of them lifted his shirt and allegedly displayed a firearm tucked into his waistband before the men fled in the truck. However, they did not rob the store, police Chief Bill Walsh said in a written statement.
Officers quickly located the suspect’s pickup truck. The two suspects were subsequently arrested after a traffic stop. Police later obtained and executed a search warrant for the suspect’s pickup truck and located the firearm inside the vehicle.
Nathan J. Bona, 20, of Southfield, was arrested and charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of threat to commit a crime, and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor. Austin Whitney, 22, of Great Barrington, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, Walsh said.
Great Barrington police Sgt. Adam Carlotto and Officer Christopher Peebles are leading the investigation. The suspects were released on personal recognizance by a clerk magistrate this morning and are scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Southern Berkshire District Court.
“This is a great example of why it is important to call the police immediately when you see something suspicious. In this instance, we have two suspects who were being irresponsible with a firearm, and we were able to locate them within minutes of the first call,” Walsh said.
“Thankfully, citizens called the police and we were able to arrest the suspects before an innocent person was hurt as a result of their wanton and reckless conduct.”
