Colonie Man Arrested for Weapon, Drugs After Maintenance Discovery

When your neighbor gets busted in your quiet section of Colonie with an AR-15 and a few pounds of packed marijuana by maintenance, well, it's a news story you notice. So much of this arrest hits close to home, because well, it is close to home.

Do I know the person arrested- no.  Do I live in the vicinity where he was arrested- yes.  Do I know the maintenance people working- yes (and they are a great group of people).  Did this news story surprise me? Also yes, even though it shouldn't.  And I'll tell you why.

A Colonie man was busted and charged with felonies after maintenance, repairing an air conditioner, found an AR-15, high capacity magazines, and over three pounds of packed marijuana in his apartment according to the Times Union.

I'm not about to get political talking about guns and marijuana.  What I will say, is that in an era where gun violence and drugs are non-stop in the news, it's something that feels different when it's close to home. A story about pot and a gun almost SHOULDN'T be surprising. It seems like the media has just been so non-stop with shootings and overdoses that you become used to seeing it.  We live in crazy times, but it's almost expected.  Even the debate over legalizing marijuana or not in New York has become exhausting because it's just constantly there.

However, at the end of the day, despite the news, despite the violence, we all have little sections or bubbles in our life where we can try to escape.  Maybe its in our home.  Maybe its at a rock show.  Maybe its at the gym at your apartment complex like me, or when I walk around the cul-de-sacs without any concern, because I don't think "oh, I may have a neighbor running a selling operation here".  When those areas become vulnerable, it hits home.  And from shootings at music shows, to overdoses in public spaces, things have started to blend together, so here's to hoping for some sort of positive change, whatever it may be.