Dixon’s permit valid at time of arrest
Published 12:00 am Sunday, August 31, 2008
Felicia Owens Dixon’s permit to carry a weapon was valid, according to Dallas County Sheriff Harris Huffman.
Selma police officers arrested Dixon and her husband Tuesday evening after polls closed for the municipal election. Both face a charge of carrying a weapon without a license. Louis Dixon was a candidate for mayor. Felicia Dixon was a candidate for the Ward 3 seat on the Selma City Council.
On Friday, Huffman said he didn’t know Owens, but he knows of her.
“The night she got arrested, she was arrested for not having a pistol permit,” Huffman said. “Well, she does have a pistol permit, and in the paper (Friday) it said she was re-arrested or whatever it was. I don’t remember now, but it said it was expired. It doesn’t expire until October. She has a valid pistol permit.”
In a court hearing Thursday afternoon, a representative of the Selma Police Department said he did not call the sheriff’s department to ascertain if the permits were valid.
The detective said both Louis and Felicia Dixon’s permits had expired.
When officers pulled over the maroon van carrying the couple, two others and a 5-year-old, authorities said they found two loaded pistols, an unloaded assault rifle and an unloaded 12-gauge shotgun.
For Felicia Dixon, having an assault rifle and shotgun in her possession does not require a permit, the sheriff said.
“To legally carry them in a vehicle, they have to be unloaded, and to my understanding they were unloaded — the shotgun and rifle, not the pistols,” Huffman said. “Now her husband, if I’m not mistaken, is prohibited to carry a pistol — evidently from a felony, is what I’m hearing. But she has a valid pistol permit.”
Felicia Dixon’s bond was set at $2,000. She had paid it and has been released. But after the court hearing, her bond on a previous burglary charge in Dallas County was revoked, and she returned to jail.
Louis Dixon’s bond was set at $2,000 initially, then raised to $500,000 by the district attorney’s office. District Judge Bob Armstrong reduced Dixon’s bond to $25,000. He remains in jail. It is uncertain for what prior felony Dixon was convicted or when.
Both individuals also are charged with child endangerment.
The Dixons also face charges related to accusations by Montgomery police they attempted to solicit a police officer posing as a prostitute in July. Louis Dixon also faces the Dallas County burglary charges.
The Dixons have said they are innocent of all charges.