Charges dropped against man arrested for carrying gun into theater

James Mapes

THORNTON, Colo. — Authorities dismissed charges against a man who was arrested while carrying a gun into a movie theater.

James Mapes has a permit to carry a gun. He had it strapped to his waist so others could see it on July 29. That was about a week after 12 people were shot and killed at the Century 16 Movie Theaters in Aurora.

Police arrested Mapes on a misdemeanor charge. They say he was carrying it in a way that caused alarm and fear for others at the Cinebarre Theater.

Someone had called police to say there was a man with a gun in the theater.

Mapes defended his decision to carry the gun into they theater. “I’ve always carried in there, opened or concealed, depends on the time of year,” he told FOX31 Denver. He criticizes Thornton police for overreacting.

Mapes has owned guns for 20 years and he wishes he was in the Aurora theater on July 20. He believes that if someone else was in the theater with a gun lives would’ve been saved.