17 October 2023- Pennsylvania State Police say that a trucker who tried to park along I-81 near Shippensburg overturned his vehicle, which had a stolen pistol in it. Christopher Falkner is charged with felony firearm carried without a license, felony possession of stolen property, and two traffic offenses of driving an unregistered vehicle and disregarding a traffic signal. Falkner is free on an unsecured bail of $10,000.
Just before 12:30am on October 3rd, Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched to a tractor trailer overturned off the roadway near mile marker 31 of I-81. Police spoke to the driver, Christopher Falkner, in the back of a Shippensburg EMS ambulance. He allegedly told them that he began to slow his vehicle down to park along the side of the road when he lost control and it tipped over into a ditch. Falkner told police that he had medical conditions of diabetes and high blood pressure which resulted in him feeling light headed. He stopped to try to let it pass when the truck traveled over the small shoulder and into the ditch.
While Falkner was taken to the hospital, police inspected the vehicle. Inside Falkner’s vehicle, police found a firearm in the sleeper cab where Falkner told them it would be. Inside of the bag it was in was a .22 LR Taurus PT-22 that was loaded with four rounds. A search of that firearm found it was stolen out of Tennessee. Additionally, police found the registration of the Freightliner to have been out of date since 10/31/22.
Much of this information was confirmed with Falkner is separate interviews, but he allegedly told them that the gun belonged to him but it wasn’t registered. He allegedly told police he traded it two or three years ago with a friend. Falkner’s friend, he attests, bought it online. Additionally, Falkner did confirm he did not have a concealed carry permit in any state.
Christopher Falkner is free on an unsecured bail of $10,000. His preliminary hearing is set for January 31st, 2024.
Sources: Docket Number: MJ-09301-CR-0000322-2023, Incident No.: PA 2023-1300035
