A routine traffic stop over dark window tint in Vallejo escalated quickly last Wednesday when officers say they found a loaded, unserialized handgun and suspected drug-sale gear tucked inside a duffel bag. Police pulled a Chrysler 300 into a parking lot near Redwood and Couch streets, detained the driver without incident, and later booked him into Solano County Jail on multiple felony counts.
According to the Vallejo Police Department, officers from the Patrol Division stopped the Chrysler at about 9:18 AM after spotting window-tint violations and directed the car into a parking lot on the 1000 block of Redwood Street. Police say they smelled freshly burned marijuana and saw loose, unsealed marijuana scattered on the front passenger seat. After the driver admitted there was a firearm in a duffel bag, officers searched the bag and reported finding a loaded, unserialized handgun along with a large amount of suspected marijuana packaging materials and a digital scale consistent with sales. A records check showed the driver is a convicted felon with prior convictions for felon in possession of a firearm, assault with a firearm, and vehicle theft, and police say the firearm and suspected narcotics were booked into evidence.
Seizures add to recent gun recoveries in Vallejo
The bust adds to a recent string of traffic stops and pursuits in Vallejo that have turned up firearms, a pattern local authorities have been pointing to with growing concern. In one example, last Sunday’s stop that turned into a short pursuit ended with officers seizing three loaded guns, according to Bay City News Service reporting via SFGATE.
State laws that apply
Under California law, it is a felony for people convicted of certain offenses, including felonies, to possess firearms, and those prohibitions are among the firearm statutes most often used in arrests like this one. The state has also tightened rules on unserialized or so-called “ghost” guns as well as unfinished frames and receivers, treating many of those components as fully regulated firearms under recent reforms. For more on the legal framework, see the California Department of Justice overview of firearm laws and the Giffords Law Center summary of ghost gun regulations.
Police process and next steps
Vallejo police say the driver was detained without incident, booked into Solano County Jail, and that the vehicle was towed from the scene. According to the department, the firearm and suspected narcotics were entered into evidence. The social media post does not name the driver and notes that the investigation is still active, according to the Vallejo Police Department…