A retired General Electric employee was arrested Tuesday afternoon at GE’s Strother Field plant after running a stop sign at a security gate and refusing to cooperate with authorities and private security guards, Cowley County Sheriff Don Read said.
John A. Pomeroy, 69, was arrested and faces charges of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.
The incident occurred around 12:44 p.m. when the sheriff’s department received a report that a man had ignored a security gate at the plant. Identification and clearance is required to enter local GE plants.
Once he entered the gated and secured area of the plant, security approached Pomeroy after observing him park his vehicle. He was said to have used profanity when questioned by security.
Pomeroy told security personnel he was at the plant to see a friend and that it was none of their business, Read said.
He was said to have been uncooperative and using profanity with sheriff’s deputies when they arrived on scene.
He was placed in handcuffs and put in a patrol car. The incident occurred in front of a small gathering of GE employees.
Read said the man had been drinking but testing determined he was not legally under the influence. Investigators had been concerned because a handgun was found in Pomeroy’s car. The gun, however, was not loaded and in plain sight.
Read said the gun just happened to be in the car and was not related to the incident for which the suspect was arrested.
