SALISBURY — A man has been arrested after residents called police and warned them about a suspicious man going door to door with a firearm.

The incident began at approximately 6:40 a.m. on Friday, when deputies reportedly received a call about a suspicious person walking around a home in the 100 block of Villa Woods Drive. When the deputies arrived on scene, they spoke with 41-year-old Jason Mark Milstead, who said that he was knocking on doors in the area in hopes that someone would be willing to help him and provide transportation to a medical appointment, said Captain Mark McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.

The deputies reportedly told Milstead that it was not a good idea to be knocking on doors early in the morning and offered to transport him to the hospital, where his appointment was. Milstead declined the offer, said McDaniel. While the deputies spoke to the original callers, Milstead allegedly came over and told them he changed his mind and would accept the offer. When the deputies informed Milstead that they would need to search him before allowing him in their patrol vehicle, he changed his mind again and said his mother would give him a ride, according to McDaniel.

At approximately 7:40 a.m., deputies reportedly received another call from the same location that a woman had found a firearm leaning against a grill that Milstead had allegedly left on the property. Deputies responded to the house again and secured the firearm before going over to Milstead’s home and finding him in the backyard. At some point, the deputies checked Milstead’s record and discovered that he was a convicted felon, said McDaniel.

Milstead allegedly admitted to the deputies during the conversation that the gun was his and that he had taken it over to the house. He was arrested and charged with felony possession of a firearm by a felon. Milstead was placed in the Rowan County Detention Center and given a $15,000 bond.