Authorities say an overly obese inmate in Houston had a gun hidden under flabs of his own flesh.
George Vera, 25, was charged with possession of a firearm in a correctional facility after he told a guard at the Harris County Jail about the unloaded 9mm pistol.
The 500-pound man was searched during his arrest and again at a city jail and the county jail, but officers never found the weapon in his rolls of skin. Vera admitted having the gun during a shower break at the county jail Monday.
Inmates are not required to go through a metal detector or wand search, Houston and Harris County law enforcement spokespeople told the Houston Chronicle.
Vera was originally arrested on charges of selling illegal copies of compact discs, the newspaper reported.
The county jail had passed a surprise inspection just days earlier, according to the Chronicle.
Vera is free on a $10,000 bond. He is charged with possessing or selling unlabeled recordings and possession of a firearm in a correctional facility, both third-degree felonies. If convicted of both charges, he faces up to four to 20 years in prison.
