Police who arrested a fare evader at a Brooklyn subway station discovered the man was carrying an illegal weapon and had spent years behind bars for gun possession.
Curtis Elliot, 34, used a fire service key to unlock the exit door at the Livonia Avenue station in East New York on Tuesday, police said.
Police officers at the station saw the man using the key, a universal tool that opens subway doors and elevators in an emergency, and approached him.
Officers tried to stop him, but he fought back, leaving one with a swollen eye, police said.
They were able to subdue Elliot and take him into custody, where they discovered he was carrying a .45 caliber handgun, they added.
He was arrested and charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and possession of weapons.
It wasn’t the first time Elliot had come across the police radar for gun possession.
In 2004, he was arrested for a shooting at the NYPD’s 73rd precinct, which covers Brownsville and Ocean Hill. In 2009, he was arrested again for being in possession of a loaded firearm, police said.
Since 2005, Elliot has served three prison terms on weapons charges. He was most recently paroled in August 2019, records show.
