Cold Spring pastor arrested on gun charges

A pastor at a Cold Spring church was arrested on two counts of carrying a concealed weapon on Christmas Eve. According to the Cold Spring Police Department, Johnny R. Coleman (Randy), 1069 Parkside Drive, Alexandria, the pastor of Christ Baptist Church in Cold Spring, was arrested after police found him at 12:30 p.m. with a loaded Glock 9mm handgun and a loaded .25 caliber handgun, in a briefcase at the Mr. Spotless Car Wash in Cold Spring.

Cold Spring Police Chief Ed Burk III confirmed Coleman is a pastor at the church. According to the police report, Coleman told an officer he was in line for a car wash when he was cut off by another person. According the report, "Mr. Coleman stated he told the victim someone could get shot over this." The person who allegedly cut Coleman off told police he believed he saw Coleman loading the hand gun, according to the police report

Coleman was arrested and taken to the Campbell County Detention Center and released the same day on his own recognizance. Coleman could not immediately be reached for comment. A woman who answered the phone at Christ Baptist Church, who declined to give her name, said Coleman was out of town for the holidays. Christ Baptist Church was started in 2004 by former members of First Baptist Church of Cold Spring after suspicions arose that church money had been used improperly by former pastor Larry Davis.

Our Staff

Randy Coleman,
Pastor

Bro. Randy's Personal Statement

In September of 1981, I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized. As a teenager, I felt the call of God on my life to serve Him in full-time Christian work. In the Fall of 1991, the Lord revealed His will for me, which is to be a minister of His Word.

I believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of the one true and living God, revealing Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that man is born into sin, which is basically rebellion against God, leading to eternal separation from God. I believe that Jesus Christ is the only Savior from that sin.

My greatest joy is found in seeing someone come to know the Lord Jesus? life-changing grace through the power of the Holy Spirit.

My life?s motto is, ? Leading people to walk with God.? I believe that the role of the church and the pastor is to grow the saints in the knowledge of God?s Word, the worship of God, and the practice of soul-winning and holiness, and to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

I, furthermore, believe the Baptist Faith and Message to be a succinct statement of Biblical doctrine.

God has called me to proclaim His good news Gospel. My heart?s desire is to serve Jesus in the integrity of my heart, remaining faithful to His Word, and to lead people to walk daily with Him.

“’m not familiar enough with Ohio law, but in many states, if the guns were locked in a briefcase, it’s not against the law to have them in your vehicle.”

From the NRA/ILA site ( http://www.nraila.org/statelawpdfs/OHSL.pdf)
A person who has been issued a concealed handgun
license or a temporary emergency license to carry a
concealed handgun may transport a loaded handgun in
a motor vehicle if the loaded handgun is:
• In a holster secured on the person
• In a closed case, bag, box or other container that is in
plain sight and has a lid, cover, or closing mechanism
and must be opened for a person to gain access to
the handgun; or
• Stored in a closed, locked glove compartment or in
a case that can be locked.
Motorcycles fall under the definition of motor vehicles
so the same requirements apply.
A firearm in the passenger compartment of a motor
vehicle is considered loaded if its magazine is loaded
or a loaded magazine is ready at hand. Muzzleloading
weapons are considered unloaded if the percussion cap
or priming powder in the pan is removed.
It is unlawful for a person not issued a concealed
handgun license or a temporary emergency license to
have a firearm in a motor vehicle unless it is unloaded
and carried in one of the following ways:
• In a closed case, box, or package.
• Secured in a rack in plain sight.
• In plain sight, with the action open or the weapon
stripped, or if the firearm’s action will not stay open
or it cannot be easily stripped, in plain sight.
• In a compartment that can be reached only by
leaving the vehicle.
If a licensee is transporting a loaded concealed
firearm and is stopped by a law enforcement officer,
he must keep his hands in plain sight, notify the
officer that he has a concealed firearm and a license
to carry a concealed firearm, and follow all specific
instructions issued by the officer.
It is unlawful to possess a firearm in any room in
which liquor is being dispensed pursuant to a liquor
license. This prohibition does not apply to a police
officer, or to any room used for the accommodation of
guests of a hotel, or the possession of an unloaded rifle
by a veterans’ organization, or possessing or displaying
unloaded firearms in a soldiers’ memorial or in a
convention center or other public meeting place by an
exhibitor, trader, purchaser, or seller.

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