Tiffany Michelle Perez, 29, Minot, is charged in district court in Minot with Class C felony possession of a stolen handgun and Class C felony possession of a handgun in the Ward County Jail on Jan. 21.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, the gun had been reported to the Three Affiliated Tribes as being stolen.

Correctional officers found the handgun in the toilet paper holder on the back of a toilet in a holding cell at the jail. Perez had been held in the holding cell prior to its discovery.

Perez told authorities that she had been drunk and passed out in a vehicle in the parking lot of the Karma Convenience Store at 600 3rd St. NE in Minot on Jan. 20. Before she passed out, she noticed a handgun in the back seat of the vehicle. She wanted to keep the handgun and shoved the handgun down the back of her pants. Someone called police to check on Perez when she was passed out in the car. Minot police arrived, checked on her, and placed her under arrest on outstanding warrants. She was placed in the holding cell at the jail. The gun fell into the toilet when she used the facilities and Perez picked up the handgun and placed it on top of the toilet paper on the back of the toilet.

Perez made an initial appearance on the charges on Friday before Judge Doug Mattson. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for April 1.