Gun Scare After DART Lays Off Seventy Workers
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February 4, 2009 - 10:29 PM
Jon Erickson
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An employee's worst fear became reality for workers at DART Container Corp. in Mason Wednesday, as 70 workers were notified they would be laid off.

After one wave of bad news, however, a different fear surfaced as management was told one of those laid off allegedly had a gun.

An employee allegedly told another employee he had a "piece," according to DART V.P. of Administration Jim Lammers. Management believed that "piece" implied gun.

Once management heard of the "piece" comment, police were called immediately. When Ingham County Sherrif deputies arrived, however, the man had already left the premises.

"Upon arrival at DART Container, as units were arriving, we learned that the individual had acutally left DART's property," Sgt. Steven Sopocy told ABC 3. "We had a description of the vehicle and a description of the individual. A short time later, that individual was stopped."

Deputies did not find a gun on the man or in his car. The man was allowed to leave.

Lammers said he had never personally experienced something like this before, and Sgt. Sopocy said this is the first such incident he can remember in recent history.

Laid off workers were offered a severance package, inclulding cash, continuing benefits and help finding another job.