Prison time ordered for Lima man who took gun into bar
Apr. 28—LIMA — A young man who while on probation carried a loaded gun into a Lima bar and attempted to reach for it during an argument with patrons was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison.
With credit given for 316 days already spent in jail in a separate case that was also settled Thursdsay, Eugene Stiggers Jr., 22, of Lima, will serve only a little more than 18 months behind bars before becoming eligible for release.
Stiggers was indicted earlier this month on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and the illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor permit establishment, felonies of the fourth- and third-degree, respectively. He was on probation at the time of the incident and, as a result of the new charges, was found to be in violation of the terms of his probation.
According to court documents, on March 13 officers with the Lima Police Department were flagged down in the area of Sheryl's Bar, 200 W. Grand Ave., and were told by bar employees there was an individual with a gun on the property.
Police drove into the parking lot at the bar and found a security employee on top of a man later identified as Stiggers. The bar employee said Stiggers was involved in an argument with other patrons when employees noticed a gun in the waistband of Stiggers' pants. As Stiggers attempted to pull the gun from his waistband he was tackled by the security employee in the parking lot.
Police recovered a Springfield 9mm, semi-automatic handgun with nine rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one in the chamber.
During an interview with police the following day Stiggers reportedly admitted having a loaded handgun inside the bar. He told police he had the gun because he has been targeted in the past.
Stiggers repeated that claim in court on Thursday, telling Judge Terri Kohlrieser that he carried the firearm for protection due to having "been shot at multiple times" in recent years.
Stiggers was on probation at the time in a 2019 case in which he was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon. He had successfully completed a stint at the WORTH rehabilitation center in Lima just three weeks prior to taking a gun into the bar after his 10 p.m. curfew.
Kohlrieser sentenced Stiggers to 30 months in prison on the charge of the illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor permit establishment. A 12-month sentence for violating the terms of his probation will be served concurrently.
Prosecutors dismissed the carrying a concealed weapon charge.
Reach J Swygart at 567-242-0464
