South Carolina Pork Executive Sentenced in D.C. Gun Case

A South Carolina executive accused of trying to enter a congressional office building in D.C. with a handgun in his bag has pleaded guilty in the case.

Ronald Prestage, 59, was arrested in July after trying to enter the Cannon House Office Building with a 9mm Ruger handgun.

U.S. Capitol Police said officers found a 9mm Ruger handgun with six rounds of ammunition in the clip and one round in the chamber in a briefcase during an administrative search at the entrance to Cannon's rotunda.

Prestage, a resident of Camden, South Carolina, had been on his way to see a congressman.

On Tuesday, a judge sentenced him to 30 days in jail, but suspended the jail time on the condition that he successfully complete six months of unsupervised probation. 

Prestage pleaded guilty Tuesday in D.C. Superior Court to misdemeanor charges of having an unregistered firearm and having unregistered ammunition, said a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prestage is an executive of North Carolina-based Prestage Farms and president-elect of the National Pork Producers Council. 

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He has a concealed carry permit in South Carolina, according to records, reported RollCall.com.

Presage's arrest occurred five days after congressional staffer Ryan Shucard was charged for the same offense. Shucard said he forgot the weapon was in his bag. 

A telephone message left for Prestage's attorney was not immediately returned Tuesday.

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