A 24-year-old man is in custody on a federal firearm charge after admitting to Honolulu police that he was high on methamphetamine.

Honolulu police arrested Burnnette and a 33-year-old Liliha man on May 19 at a laundromat near the Pokai Bay Army recreation center in Waianae on firearm and drug possession charges.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said a witness gave police officers a loaded magazine for a .45-caliber firearm and told them that someone in a group of males including Paulus and the other man had dropped the magazine.

The ATF said when the officers caught up with Paulus and the other man, they recognized Paulus as a member of the Ride or Die gang and a person of interest in numerous weapons calls in the Waianae area. Paulus told the officers he did not have a firearm and invited them to search him.

The officers searched Paulus and found a .25-caliber handgun in a gun holster clipped to his shorts. They also found bags containing methamphetamine and cocaine. The officers recovered a .45-caliber handgun from the other man.

Police arrested Paulus for contempt in connection with a $500 criminal warrant, possessing an unregistered firearm, carrying a firearm without a permit and possessing dangerous drugs. They arrested the other man for possessing an unregistered firearm and carrying a firearm and ammunition without a permit.

Before attempting to interview Paulus, the ATF said, police had to first determine whether he was able to waive his right to remain silent if he chose to answer questions. The officers asked him if he had been using drugs.

Paulus told them he had been smoking methamphetamine for the past few days. He also asked to speak to a lawyer.

When Honolulu police released Paulus on May 21 pending investigation, the ATF took custody of him on a federal charge of being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison without the opportunity for parole. The ATF also asked a federal judge for permission to take blood, hair and urine samples from Paulus and to order him held in custody without the opportunity for release on bail.

The most serious state charge Paulus was facing is carrying a firearm without a permit, a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, with the possibility of early release on parole.